


Detective Hop

by snom_but_with_gun (tart_apeldpfs111)



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Blood, Cannon Divergence, Crime Fighting, Crime Scenes, Crimes & Criminals, Death, Detective Hop, Detectives, F/M, He practically lives there, Hop Swears (Pokemon), Hop gets sent to the hospital a lot, Hop needs a hug, Hop-centric (Pokemon), Hospitalization, Hypnotism, Injury, Light Angst, Mystery, Organized Crime, Pokemon, Pokemon Battles, Swearing, Violence, idk if its light or not so I just put both light and normal angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:54:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28521225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tart_apeldpfs111/pseuds/snom_but_with_gun
Summary: What if instead of becoming a professor, Hop became a detective?The story is exactly the same as the main game, except that Hop became a detective instead of a pokemon professor. Also the events in the DLCs after the main game are probably going to be different as well. There's also a time skip from the end of the main story, to current Hop.Mature rating because swearing, violence, blood, and death.Excerpt from chapter 4:“I’m fine,” Hop called out.“I’m taking you to the hospital whether you want me or not.” Said Officer Jenny.“What about the case?”“Your hand is smoking. What the hell is wrong with you?”
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Yarrow | Milo/Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 14
Kudos: 11





	1. The Shard Thief p1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, so this is my first ever fanfic, and I hope you guys enjoy it. I've also included hyperlinks to images of the pokemon.(I don't own any of the images, art, or characters.) 
> 
> I'll update tags as we go.
> 
> Also regarding romance, I'll probably have some minor romance, but it won't be the main focus. (Like Gloria might be in a relationship idk).

The first thing that Hop learned about Pokémon battles was that they're fair. The first thing he learned about being a detective was that the fights, or "anything goes battles'' weren't. As Looker had said, "In the Pokémon battles that you're used to, it's usually a one versus one showdown, where the individual Pokémon's strength, skill, and match-up play the biggest part. Most armed criminals looking for a fight will attack at either you or your Pokémon with the intention to hurt or kill. Most criminals with Pokémon will send all six of their Pokémon out and run, knowing that they can summon their Pokémon back to their [ Poké Balls](http://www.pngmart.com/files/2/Pokeball-PNG-Photos.png). One of the hardest things that Pokémon trainers have when making the transition from trainer to detective is thinking beyond the rules of a standard Pokémon fight. Use everything you have at your disposal, there are no rules."

* * *

Hop quickly read through the briefing notes. Someone broke into Hammerlock Vault at around 2:30 am and stole a shard of [Eternatus](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/6/62/890Eternatus.png)' egg that was on display. At the time of the burglary, all of the cameras mysteriously failed - most likely the work of an electric or psychic Pokémon. The glass protecting the shard was lifted and put back in place without any evidence of physical contact, suggesting the use of telekinesis or a different psychic type move. The police car zipped through the night, alone on the road, making its way towards [ Hammerlock Stadium](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6vNMASFlif8/maxresdefault.jpg).

"It's your first case, you must be nervous." Jenny asked, hands on the driving wheel.

"Yeah a bit," Hop replied before saying, "but I have confidence in my abilities!" he said while excitedly making a fist in the air.

"Full of energy I see, why don't we have you question the witness?"

"Uhh about that" Hop responded while scratching the back of his head. "Raihan, the witness, I'm really close with him, we trained together a couple days ago."

Officer Jenny chuckled for a moment "Sometimes I forget that you're one of the few people who beat the gym challenge. So what team are you bringing?"

"Hmm lets see... [ Cinderace](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/b/b0/815Cinderace.png/1200px-815Cinderace.png), [ Dubwool](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Dubwool_\(Pok%C3%A9mon\)), [ Corviknight](https://www.serebii.net/pokedex-swsh/corviknight), [ Trevenant](https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/large/trevenant.jpg), [ Bolthund](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/e/e4/836Boltund.png), and [ Zamazenta](https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/large/zamazenta-crowned.jpg)." Hop excitedly told Jenny, while waving his Poké Balls around.

"Zamazenta!" Officer Jenny exclaimed. "I keep on forgetting how stacked your team is, since you're such a novice."

Hop let out a laugh, "Yeah, It was hard to decide on who I should bring as well, I wanted to bring [ Snorlax ](https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/large/snorlax.jpg) but decided that I should bring Trevenant so he can bind any possible suspects if they try and run!"

"You always get so excited while talking about Pokémon." Officer Jenny was smiling, her last partner had been drier than stale bread.

"I couldn't imagine my life without them! What Pokémon did you bring?"

"I brought, [ Granbull](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/b/b1/210Granbull.png/1200px-210Granbull.png), [ Herdier](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/9/96/507Herdier.png/1200px-507Herdier.png), [ Ferrothorn](https://www.serebii.net/swordshield/pokemon/598.png), [ Ariados](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/7/76/168Ariados.png/1200px-168Ariados.png), [ Klefki](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/0/04/707Klefki.png), and [ Chatot](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/b/bf/441Chatot.png/1200px-441Chatot.png)."

Hop was puzzled for a moment, "Is Klefki for lock-picking?"

"Yup, you got it. You've got a pretty sharp head on your shoulder despite being a novice."

The car pulled to a stop, Hammerlock Stadium looming ominously in front of them through the moonlight. Both cops jumped out of the car making their way though the giant coppery walls. Raihan was sitting by the front entrance in his nightgown, with this signature hoodie hastily put on, his eyes droopy. He took a quick selfie, typing something before looking up. 

"Thanks for coming so late Nurse Jenny - I mean Officer Jenny." He seemed on the verge of falling asleep where he sat.

"Of course, it's our duty to make sure the citizens of Galar are and feel safe at all times. Now can you explain in detail what happened?" Officer Jenny responded in a professional manner. No doubt she'd done this hundreds of times.

"Right so I was uhh, sleeping and then [ Duraludon ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/3/38/884Duraludon.png/1200px-884Duraludon.png) and [ Flygon ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/f/f1/330Flygon.png) got out of their Poké Balls and they were- wait Hop is that you?" Hop gave him a smile and a quick wave unsure how he should react.

"Woah, you're looking pretty good in that outfit." It wasn't a lie, Hop was filling up the standard issued uniform quite nicely. Over the years he started to work out. Raihan had seen his progress before, but that didn't stop him from teasing him here and there.

"Uhh, so where was I?" Raihan asked, his words almost slurring.

"Duraludon and Flygon." Officer Jenny stated flatly.

"Oh right, they were acting weird and protective, and this little guy" he said while pulling a [ turquoise trapinch ](https://www.serebii.net/Shiny/SWSH/328.png) out of the hood of his hoodie "was acting all afraid hiding behind a lamp. I heard some weird rustling from the Vault, so I went with my Pokémon to check it out, and by the time we got there, the egg shard thing was already gone." Raihan rubbed the head of the sleeping trapinch softly.

Officer Jenny pulled out a [ Great Ball](https://www.clipartmax.com/png/middle/190-1909244_pokemon-great-ball-png.png), taping the button with her index finger. A bright light came out of the Great Ball, forming a Granbull. Officer Jenny crouched down eye level with her Granbull. "Pinky can you check the entrance area, to see if there are any fresh footprints or scents? Besides ours or Raihan's of course." Pinky puffed his chest out and let out a confident growl.

Officer Jenny motioned towards Hop, "Come on, let's go investigate the Vault."

"Thats the wrong way." Hop pointed out while trying to hold back a giggle.

A small blush of embarrassment showed up on her face, "Why don't you lead the way since you know this place better." She said a bit quieter than usual.

There wasn't much of a crime scene, to the naked eye at least. All that really seemed different was that the shard behind the glass display case was now missing. A bright ball of energy appeared and shaped into a Herdier. The Herdier barked loudly a couple times before looking up at officer Jenny. _Poor Raihan_ Hop thought, _he's not going to get a wink of sleep_.

"Scan the area for any fresh prints or scents, except for ours or Raihan's." Officer Jenny said while walking towards the display case and carefully examining it. Officer Jenny's blue [ Rotom phone ](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/499/682/90b.jpg) zipped around the room taking pictures of various different objects.

Hop grabbed a Poké Ball off of his belt, opening it, and watching as Bolthund appeared before him. Hop crouched down, and scratched the chin of his Bolthund who was looking at him with anticipation in his eyes.

"Follow what Herdier is doing, you should get some experience in tracking." Bolthund scampered away, barking a few times at Herdier.

"That's weird." Officer Jenny mumbled to herself.

"What's the matter?" Hop asked briskly walking towards the display case himself.

"It's like the report said, there's no evidence of the display case being touched at all. The strange part is that it doesn't seem the display case was moved at all, which usually isn't the case when something is moved by a psychic type move." Officer Jenny started rubbing her chin trying to think of any possible reasons.

Hop thought for a moment before his eyes lit up. "Wait maybe a Pokémon used teleport to get inside, and used it again but with the shard to get out! There don't seem to be any smudge marks from the inside, and the display case is pretty small." Hop paused for a moment. "The only Pokémon I can think of that is small enough and can use teleport is [ Natu](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/5/5b/177Natu.png). It can fly as well, so it would make sense that there wouldn't be any prints!" Hop exclaimed excitedly.

"Wow you really do know your stuff. What other evidence do we have?” She paused for a moment in thought, “Rotom, show me the camera pointing to the display case." The Rotom phone zipped in front of both of them and started displaying various photos of the camera taken at different angles.

"Am I missing something?" Hop asked looking at the picture of the camera not finding anything off with the camera.

"No I'm not finding anything either, which is odd, since normally I would have found some evidence of electric or psychic tampering by now... let's take a look on the inside of the camera."

"The inside?! How are you going to do that without damaging the camera?" Hop asked, astonished.

Officer Jenny smirked, "Just watch and learn."

Officer Jenny pulled out a [ Premier Ball ](https://pkmngotrading.com/mediawiki/images/b/b4/Premier_ball1.png) and a Poké Ball opening both. Both Pokémon appeared in the air in front of her, a Klefki and a Chatot. Unlike a normal Klefki which collected keys, this one had lock picks, screws and various other tools. "You know what to do." Officer Jenny told her Pokémon. Both of them nodded their head knowingly and flew up to the camera. The Chatot grabbed one of the smaller screwdrivers with her beak and started unscrewing the screws. As the screws fell they curved off a normal fall trajectory and clung to a magnet that the Klefki was holding. After tinkering with the camera a bit, a metal panel was dislodged, clinging to the magnet. "I got it, I got it, I got it!" The Chatot squawked excitedly while flying in circles around the camera. Officer Jenny's Rotom phone zipped across the room, taking a dozen photos of the exposed interior of the camera. "Bwwzzzip! Here's zzzap photo!" The Rotom phone exclaimed hovering above both cops.

"Nice work guys! Can you fix the camera to the way it was before now?" Officer Jenny beamed proudly.

"Woah! Look at this, the interior was tinkered with a lot, but there doesn't seem to be any-" Hop started describing while waving his arms motioning towards the picture.

Both dog Pokémon started barking loudly interrupting Hop.

"Right, I'll go see what they found out, while you continue looking to see what you figure out by looking at the camera." Officer Jenny informed hop while rushing over to Herdier and Bolthund.

_There isn't any internal damage with the camera despite how much it's been tampered with._ Hop thought for a moment before reaching into his bags and grabbing the briefing notes. _Each camera from the main entrance to the vault was disabled one at a time in order._ Hop traced his fingers down to the timestamps of when each camera was disabled. _There was a couple seconds in between each camera being disabled._ Hop paused for a moment. _Wait! I'm getting a feeling a_ [ _Rotom_ ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/c/c5/479Rotom.png/1200px-479Rotom.png) _did this. Hmm it makes sense, there was no external damage, and the Rotom disabled each camera without damaging the system, probably worried about hurting itself._

"[ Alakazam](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/c/cc/065Alakazam.png/250px-065Alakazam.png)!" Officer Jenny exclaimed in a moment of realization.

"Did you find something?" Hop asked.

"I didn't find anything, Herdier and Bolthund did, I just figured out what it was." Officer Jenny stated plainly. "The thief and his Pokémon were levitating, more specifically it was an Alakazam. I could tell by the psychic trail."

"The psychic what?" Hop was puzzled. He took pride in knowing a lot about Pokémon, but he'd never heard of a psychic trail before.

"When a Pokémon levitates using psychic powers, or causes something to levitate by using a psychic type move, they do it by surrounding it with psychic energy and controlling that. If a Pokémon like Alakazam is levitating and is close to a wall, floor or different object, the psychic energy surrounding it will gently rub against the surface leaving a 'psychic trail'. Since the psychic energy surrounds every part of the Pokémon equally, if it leaves a psychic trail large enough, an expert can tell what made the trail. Oh, and there isn't actually any psychic residual or anything, the only reason we can see it now is because the carpet has an imprint of the trail." Officer Jenny explained.

"Woah! That's amazing! I've never even heard of a psychic trail before, and I know a lot about Pokémon." Hop said, eagerly absorbing every drop of information about Pokémon that he could.

"Glad I could teach you something, although to be honest it's a trade secret, so don't go around telling everyone." Officer Jenny said the last part a bit quieter.

"Yes ma'am!" Hop shouted.

Officer Jenny chuckled, "You don't have to call me ma'am."

"Somethings a bit off, it seems the scent is just in that one location, and the psychic trail isn't connected to anything. It's like the thief teleported- wait, Alakazam could probably teleport itself and it's trainer in and out with no problem." Officer Jenny thought out loud. "So Hop, what did you find?"

"I think a Rotom was used to disable the cameras, since there was a lot of internal tampering, but very little damage was actually done, and how in the briefing, it seemed like something jumped from camera to camera." Hop gestured towards the different images on Officer Jenny's Rotom phone while he spoke.

"Here's what I got, let me know if you think of anything else. The thief's Rotom disabled all of the cameras, then the thief teleported in with his Alakazam, after that the thief's Natu got the shard, and then the Alakazam teleported everyone out." Officer Jenny quickly described.

"Right! So the next place to look would be the entrance where the Rotom entered from?"

"Yup, lets go." Officer Jenny gave hop a quick but encouraging thumbs up. She pulled out her Poké Balls and called all of her Pokémon in the room back into them. Hop decided to leave Bolthund outside his Poké Ball as they ran back to the entrance. 

Raihan fell asleep somehow, despite the racket they were making. He slumped back in his chair, a tiny bit of drool was forming at the corner of his mouth. His turquoise Trapinch was snoring away, happily drooling all over his lap. Pinky the Granbull was sitting down on the floor staring directly at Raihan. It looked very unnerving. His head perked up when he saw Officer Jenny and Hop running towards him. He quickly stood up on his hind legs and walked over to a spot outside the building, directly in front of the main entrance. He growled at the ground before motioning his head up toward the first camera inside the building.

"Bolthund, is this the same smell as inside the vault?" Hop asked while catching his breath.

Bolthund barked twice before he nodded his head.

"Can you follow the smell?" Hop asked while crouching down, his arms resting on his thighs.

Bolthund let out a sad whimper and shook his head.

"It's okay you did a good job." Hop beamed proudly at Bolthund and pat his head, then he looked up, "I'm sure that the thief teleported with his Alakazam here, had his Rotom disable the cameras and then teleported to steal the shard."

"Great, so we figured out how the shard was stolen, and we know three of the Pokémon that the thief used. I'll send in a request for Nurse Joy to check her logs at the Pokémon center to see if someone recently went in with a Natu, Rotom and Alakazam." Officer Jenny sighed in relief, they could finally take a break while Nurse Joy was looking through her logs.

"Wait" Hop interrupted her train of thought. "Couldn't the thief have used a Rotom from his Rotom phone?"

Officer Jenny walked towards the cop car, leaning on the door. She pulled a gain bar out from one of her pockets, "Nah, the Rotom phones will send a signal to Silph co. if the user forcefully breaks the phone open. They usually let us know if anything like that happens. This case would have been a hell of a lot easier that’d happened." She explained in between bites of her gain bar.

"So, what do we do now?"

"We wait." Officer Jenny sighed. "You can do whatever you want, I'll probably get a Star-you's Coffee. I'll call you if anything happens."

"Wait I can do anything? But aren't we on duty? Huh?" _Am I getting paid for doing nothing?_ Hop was confused, there was never any talk about many breaks in the academy. In fact, Hop had been warned about overtime being common.

"Usually we have multiple cases at the same time, so we'd work on another if we came to a standstill with one. I think this being your first case, they didn't want to overwhelm you or something. You want a ride anywhere?" Officer Jenny asked while opening the car door.

"Thanks! But I'm good." The Pokémon center was in walking distance, he'd be able to change into something more comfortable there.

Hop pulled out his Bolthund's Poké Ball. "I'll let others get fresh air, if that's okay?" He asked while sitting down on the steps of Hammerlock Stadium. Bolthund nodded, he looked a bit disappointed but he understood. Hop gently tapped the Poké Ball to Bolthund's nose, watching as Bolthund disappeared into his Poké Ball. He placed all of his Poké Balls on the ground in front of him. Which three should he take out? Over his time as a Pokémon trainer, Hop coined something called "the rule of three". Typically if he brought out his Pokémon people would get intimidated because they looked scary. Hop didn't understand where people got that from, he thought all of his Pokémon were adorable. Regardless, Hop found that he could bring three Pokémon without people being terrified.

_Whatever._ Hop thought as he grabbed all his Poké Balls and threw them in the air. Six bright lights illuminated the night sky summoning his team. At some point Officer Jenny left, but hop hadn't registered the noise of the car driving away. _I really am exhausted._ Bolthund looked up at him, tilting his head in confusion. The rest of his team tensed the moment they were summoned, thinking he might be in battle since he called all of them out.

"Relax, I just don't really care if we scare anyone. It's been awhile and I want you guys to get some fresh air before something actually happens." Hop yawned, while he picked up the Poké Balls from the ground.

Hop paused for a minuted, "Bolthund if you want to rest in your Poké Ball thats-" mid-sentence Corviknight grabbed Bolthund off the ground with his claws and threw him onto his back.

_Well that works too._ He thought while standing up. He motioned for his team to follow him as he strolled towards the Pokémon Center, too tired to go any faster. As his feet moved through the stone paved streets of Hammerlock, his boots crunching an Autumn leaf every so often, his mind wandered. _The burglary definitely was premeditated. The thief was far too careful for it to be a spur of the moment impulse. What's the thief like? He definitely knows a lot about Pokémon._ _What motive could he have?_ That question puzzled Hop the most. _Shards of the egg are being sold legally, so it's not a super rare item. Maybe the thief couldn't afford it, and they wanted to pawn it off for a quick buck? But why steal it from Hammerlock? They would have had a much easier time taking it from some random collector._


	2. The Shard Thief p2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning this chapter gets really dark and there's violence.
> 
> Also if a pokemon is doing a move like headbutt I put it like this: 'headbutt'.

Hop’s lavender hair fluttered in the cool autumn breeze. Over the years he’d let his hair grow out a bit, letting the ends of his hair stick out in different directions. He played with a loose strand of hair with his left hand. He paused for a moment, then shifted position on the rock he sat on. He watched as his team played against the backdrop of Hammerlock’s tall dark walls that separate it from the Wild Area. Dubwool and Zamazenta ran around Trevenant while jumping over Trevenant’s roots. Corviknight circled the sky above with Bolthund on his back. Cinderace kicked a pebble into the air, trying to catch it with his teeth, but landing on his forehead instead. Hop held back a laugh, not wanting to damage Cindrence’s pride. He always felt refreshed when relaxing in the wild area.

Hop pulled his lavender Rotom Phone out of the beige jacket he’d changed into. “Uzzzer identification complete! The time zzzzzs 4:20 am!”

Two new notifications from Instagram at 2:46 and 3:05. Who was posting on Instagram that early? He opened the first post, it was a smiling picture of Raihan in his nightgown, next to an empty display case. Duraladon frowned disapprovingly in the background. The caption read, “Just got robbed XD.” Hop mentally facepalmed. The next image was Raihan sitting on the chair at Hammerlock Stadium’s entrance. The caption read, “Cops just showed up 🥵 🥵.”

Hop sent a quick dm to Raihan, “Why…”

Hop looked back at his feed. Gloria posted a picture of Milo chasing some  [ Wooloo ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/1/1f/831Wooloo.png/250px-831Wooloo.png) yesterday.  _ She sure does spend a lot of time with Milo despite being the champion. What do they even do all time? _ Hop wondered.

Bolthund barking interrupted his train of thought.  _ Was Corviknight using ‘brave bird’ while Bolthund was on his back? _

“Aye! Aye! Cut it out!” He shouted. 

Corviknight landed on the ground in front of Hop looking every unimpressed. 

Hop put a very shaken up Bolthund on his lap before glaring at Corviknight. “You should know better than to rough house like that in the middle of a case.”

“Hmpf.” Corviknight turned his head away.

Hop didn’t get mad often but when he did, he was seething. “Look at me.”

Corviknight slowly turned his head towards Hop. His previous pompousness now replaced with nervousness.

“I won’t stand that type of behavior in the future.” He stated flatly. “You could have seriously hurt Bolthund, imagine if this had been a murder case? If that happens again I will switch you out.” He threatened. “I’m sure  [ Pincurchin ](https://www.serebii.net/pokemon/art/871.png) ,  [ Cramorant ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/f/f3/845Cramorant.png/1200px-845Cramorant.png) ,  [ Heatmor ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/b/b0/631Heatmor.png) , or Snorlax would love to be on the team right now, and they would behave a hell of a lot better than you…  _ Understand _ ?”

Corviknight gulped and furiously nodded his head.

Hop sighed, he hated scolding his Pokémon. He thought of them as equals, but at the same time he was fairly certain he would have yelled at anyone if they had done that.

Corviknight made a small rumble as an apology before waddling away on his talons.

“Call Gloria.” Hop said out of the blue.

“Whuzzzt?” Rotom let out a confused beep.

“The thief might not have the shard on him anymore. If Bolthund smells Gloria’s Eternatus then we’ll still be able to follow him.” Hop explained.

“Ring, Ring, Ring, bwzzt someone-” Rotom started.

“Who the FUCK is calling me at 4:30 in the GOD DAMN MORNING! I swear to god, if it's another magazine company, I will go to your house and shove your goddamn magazines up your ARSE!” Gloria screamed through the phone.

Hop was surprised Gloria was awake. “Uh, hi it’s me Hop.” He chuckled.

“Oh, it’s just you. What on earth possessed you to call me at this ungodly time?” She demanded.

“Are you busy right now?” He asked.

“Yes. What?” Gloria was clearly having none of it.

“It’s for a case I’m working on, I was wondering if I could borrow Eternatus for a moment.” He asked, trying to sound as polite as he could.

“Oh, you should have asked sooner.” She sounded a bit apologetic. “I’m in Turffield right now, I'll drop by sometime in the afternoon, Hammerlock right?”

“Yeah, thanks!” He exclaimed. “Also have fun with Milo.” He teased before hanging up. 

Hop checked his Instagram DMs. He frowned, some fans had gotten a hold of his private account. Raihan must have accidentally tagged his private account instead of his public one in a post. He ignored them and scrolled down. A message caught his eye.

“I would please like to talk to you, as soon as we possibly can. It is urgent.” Over the past couple of years he’d talked to Shielbert a couple of times, and even exchanged numbers. He smiled remembering when Shielbert and his older brother Sordward tried to take over the Galar region by bombarding  [ Zacian ](https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/large/zacian-crowned.jpg) and Zamazenta with “Galar Particles.” They’d gone through a complete one-eighty. After doing their required community service, they became assistant to Leon, the chairman. He frowned for a moment when thinking about his older brother Leon.

“Riiiiiiiing! Riiiiiiiing!” Rotom started violently shaking in Hop’s hands. He looked at the caller before tapping the accept button.

“Nurse Joy just called and said she’d be done in around 15 min. Meet me by the Pokémon center in like 10 minutes.” Officer Jenny informed Hop. “Also do you need a ride?”

“Thanks for the offer! Also, you don’t need to keep asking me that.” Hop smiled. He was definitely feeling more energized.

“Well, I’m not the one who can’t drive. See you.” Officer Jenny hung up.

Hop’s Pokémon with the exception of Bolthund had crowded around him, no doubt overhearing the call. Hop nudged Bolthund awake, then jumped off the rock while holding him.

“Send a dm to Shielbert telling him that I'm busy right now, but I’ll contact him later,” Hop told Rotom while setting Bolthund down on the floor.

Hop looked around, checking to make sure that nobody was around. He shamelessly changed into his cop uniform despite the cold wind.

“Let’s go!” he shouted, receiving a chorus of agreement from his team.

* * *

“You can use the changing rooms to change like usual.” Nurse Joy politely informed Hop before looking up. “Oh, I see you already changed. If you would like, we can take care of your Pokémon for a few moments.” She said while going back and typing on her computer terminal behind the front desk.

“Thanks! You guys are the best.” Hop gave Nurse Joy and her  [ Appletun ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/3/36/842Appletun.png/250px-842Appletun.png) a thumbs up.

Hop put his Poké Balls in the tray that Appletun brought over in his mouth. He then encouragingly patted Appletun on her head before she walked away.

The sliding doors to the Pokémon center slid open. “And I thought I came early.” Officer Jenny threw an empty coffee cup into the garbage can.

“Don’t want to make a bad impression on my first day.”

“Trust me, that’s the last thing you’ve done today.” Officer Jenny casually leaned her arms on the front desk, peering over to the computer terminal that Nurse Joy was working on. “Didya find anything yet?”

“If you would excuse me,” Nurse Joy gritted her teeth trying not to raise her voice, “but I’m trying to work here. If you were to be patient and wait for another minute the scan will be complete.”

Officer Jenny put her hands in the air, “Okay, okay I get it.” She turned away pouting a bit.

The three of them stood around in awkward silence for a minute.

_ Beeeep. _

“So wha-” Officer Jenny began.

“I’ve already sent it to your phone.” Nurse Joy interrupted flatly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a nap.” She opened the employees only door behind the front desk.

“Thanks for everything! And sorry for bothering you so late at night!” Hop waved energetically at Nurse Joy.

“You’re welcome.” She smiled at Hop. “At least someone has the manners to thank me after all of that!” She glared holes through Officer Jenny’s forehead.

“Uh, tha-” Officer Jenny started.

_ Wham! _ Nurse Joy slammed the door shut cutting. Appletun sat at the front desk unnerved, with her legs dangling in the air.

Officer Jenny pouted for a moment before sighing. “Alright let’s see the results.” Officer Jenny’s Rotom Phone flew out of her pocket and flipped itself screen down. Suddenly from the camera light burst forth, creating a projection in the air.

_ So cool! Did that Rotom just use ‘light screen’ while in phone form? I’ll have to ask Officer Jenny about it later. _ Hop thought.

“This seems manageable.” Officer Jenny looked at the list of 3 names.

“Bwwzzzip” Rotom beeped as a description of each person appeared on the screen.

Officer Jenny dragged two of the profiles separate from the third. “That guy’s doing the gym challenge so he’d be the least likely to leave, and easiest to track. We should probably prioritize these two” 

“Wait this guy, Jordan Paora, he’s a member of Team Yell, the music band that Piers runs.” Hop pointed out.

“He’s part of a music group so what?” Officer Jenny scratched her head.

“I’ll explain later.” Hop said before swiping through info about the last guy.

-Name: Orson Lott

\- Age: 26

-Height: 5’7

-Last scanned Pokémon: Alakazam,  [ Runerigus ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/7/71/867Runerigus.png) ,  [ Conkeldurr ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/1/11/534Conkeldurr.png/1200px-534Conkeldurr.png) ,  [ Escavalier ](https://www.serebii.net/swordshield/pokemon/589.png) , Rotom, Natu.

-No criminal records.

“Think this is the guy.” Hop tapped the screen. A picture of a Japanese man with long raven hair and hazel eyes appeared.

“Send this to Theresa at HQ.” She made a quick 360, running towards the door and motioning towards Hop. “Let’s get in the car.”

Hop ran after her, frantically pulling 3 Poké Balls from his belt. “Wait! I’ll travel using my Pokémon! Let me know when they say anything!”

The moment the Pokemon Center’s sliding doors opened, Hop simultaneously pressed the buttons, opening the three Poké Balls. “Chase formation, four - two!” He shouted.

The moment that Corviknight and Cinderace left their Poké Balls, they wasted no time before running/flying around the cop car, side by side. Cinderace and Corviknight were both boosting and syncing their speeds, by constantly using ‘agility’. Cinderace sped up twice while Corviknight sped up four times. They made a couple of loops around the car, before Cinderace stopped, standing in front of Bolthund while Corviknight landed on the ground in front of Hop. Cinderace bent down, picking Bolthund up and putting him into a piggyback position. Corviknight spread his wings out, and leaned forward a bit, making it easier for Hop to climb onto his back.

Officer Jenny now sitting in the driver’s seat of the car rolled down the windows. The engine roared to life, while Officer Jenny shouted “Found him going to Route 6 on cams!”

Cinderace took off running at a blinding pace, leaving a fiery trail of footprints behind him. With one powerful flap of his wings, Corviknight shot forward off the ground trailing Cinderace like a cannonball. The air pressure generated by Corviknight speeding through the air put out Cinderace’s flaming trail, as he flew over it. The flames swirling weakly around Corviknights body before dying out.

“1 hour ago!” Officer Jenny yelled at Hop, unsure if he heard him or not. She floored the pedal and zipped through the street following the smokey trail in front of her.

Hop sped through the entirety of Hammerlock in less than ten seconds. The moment Cinderace stepped on the huge brick bridge connecting the west entrance of Hammerlock to Route 6, Bolthund started barking wildly. The barks fell on deaf ears, the air pressure drowning it out. Cinderace could feel the vibrations of Bolthund’s against his shoulders. He locked on to the direction Bolthund’s head was pointing towards.

The moment Cinderace finished crossing the bridge, the terrain became rough and uneven. In order to maintain the same speed, he zig-zagged and incorporated jumps into his run. Bolthund stared directly in front of him at a tall ledge following the scent. Cinderace ran straight at it, only stopping a few inches away from the giant stone wall. With one push using his powerful hind legs, Cinderace flew up into the air, scaling the 20 ft. ledge in a single jump. Corviknight followed suit, making a deep grumble in his throat warning Hop. Corviknight made a sharp 90-degree turn upwards, and shot up, parallel to the wall. Hop’s hands gripped the front of Corviknight’s wings like vices. He would definitely bring a harness next time he did this.

Suddenly Hop saw bright yellow electricity burst forth at the beginning of the fire trail. The electricity and fire meshed together creating a shower of yellowish-orange light. Hop gripped his Poké Balls in anticipation. Bolthund had found the thief.

Bolthund surrounded every inch of his body in a thick layer of electricity preparing a ‘wild charge.’ Cinderace dropped Bolthunt, so he was sitting on his right foot as they skidded to a stop. Cinderace gathered all of the flames he could muster to his right foot, completely surrounding Bolthunt in a giant veil of flames.

“You’re under arrest! Please cooperate!” Hop yelled over the wind towards the man and his Alakazam.

The man ignored Hop, swiftly reaching into his coat to grab something.

In a single fluid motion, Cinderace launched Bolthund towards the like a missile towards the man. In panic, the man’s Alakazam pushed him out of the way, focusing psychic power between his palms. 

A moment later Bolthunt collided into the Alakazam like a missile. The Alakazam unleashed the psychic power, creating a giant pinkish-purple psychic box surrounding them all. A gigantic burst of yellow-orange energy exploded around Bolthund, his electric vei protecting him from the blunt of the explosion. The Alakazam’s unconscious body was thrown back so hard, it shattered a hole in the back of the psychic box. The man was also thrown by the explosion, his body bouncing off of the back of the psychic wall.

All of Hop’s Pokémon instantly slowed to a snail’s speed while still maintaining the same movement as before. ‘ _ Trick Room.’ _ Hop recognized it immediately. Inside the box, speed was changed. The faster something’s max speed was, the slower it would be inside the box, and vice a versa. Momentum sent Hop flying off of the back of his almost still Corviknight. He hit the ground rolling. In a single motion, Hop slammed his palms against the ground and pushed himself up into a standing position.

He didn’t even have a moment of rest. A heavily armored Escavalier zipped across the box at a lightning speed. It’s two lances speeding straight towards Hop’s face. The lances were meer inches away from his face before colliding with a golden red shield. He was barely able to summon Zamazenta in time. Hop immediately jumped back, and reached into his pocket, throwing a switchblade. He just barely avoided a giant concrete pillar that grazed his chest. Zamazenta who was normally faster than Hop wasn’t so lucky. The concrete pillar smashed into his side with a resounding crack, Zamazenta’s crashed into the right wall, and fell to the ground, unconscious. The switchblade Hop threw, lodged itself into the side of the Conkeldurr holding the concrete pillar.

Hop reached grabbed three of his Poké Balls, calling back Corviknight, Bolthund and Cinderace. None of them stood a chance in ‘trick room’ with their current speed. ‘ _ Trick room’ should only last 35 more seconds considering the hole- _

_ Bang! Bang! Bang! _ The sounds of gunshots filled the air. The man was laughing maniacally while coughing up blood. In his right hand, he waved a gun wildly through the air, and with his left, he clutched the left side of his face. The moment the bullets left the barrel of his pistol they froze, suspended in air.

_ Shit. _ He had to win while ‘trick room’ was still up. Neither Zamazenta nor Corviknight could withstand half a minute of bullets hitting them all at once. If he won fast enough he might be able to move the bullets of course. He had to.

Hop called out Trevenant in front of him. Although Trevenant was the slowest on Hop’s current team, in ‘trick room’, Escavalier and Conkeldurr were still faster.

Escavalier’s lances cleaved off a giant section of bark from Trevenant’s body. Conkeldurr screaming in agony swung its other concrete pillar at Trevenant. Hop barely ducked in time. The concrete pillar went straight through Trevenant’s ethereal body and brushed the top of Hop’s hair.

Trevenant created a giant hammer out of wood and smashed Escavalier sending him flying back. Although the actual hit itself did barely any damage to Escavalier in his full suit of armor, the bullets did. The moment the back of Escavalier’s armor hit the swarm of floating bullets, it’s armor was hit by the force of 9 full power bullets, knocking it unconscious instantaneously.

Hundreds of bullets filled the air like a swarm of insects.  _ How the hell did he shoot that many times. _ Hop’s gazed up and suddenly a storm of feelings hit him. Horror, disgust, and anger coursed through his body. The man’s gun was floating in the air, blue plasma radiating off of it, and the metal turned orange. Two eyes full of pain were in front of the badly damaged barrel.  _ A Rotom Gun. _ Hop wanted to puke.

Bullets poured out of the barrel of the Rotom Gun. The air filled up with a dark cloud of smoke and a blanket of bullets. The other side of the wall was barely visible. Cold fear gripped the edges of Hop’s mind and body.  _ I can’t do anything... not against that many. _

Whamm! Pain flared through his entire body. A giant stone slab slammed into Hop’s stomach knocking him to the ground. Blood spluttered out of his mouth onto his clothing. Hop hadn’t ever experienced anything close to as painful before. His stomach felt on fire as if something was burning him on the inside out. His uniform soaking with blood.

Stone slabs levitated in the air, a dark shadow connecting all the slabs to a central one with a sinister grin.  _ Fuck.  _ Hop thought, futilely trying to fight the pain exploding from his stomach.  _ When had Runerigus even been called out? _

Another stone slab flew towards him, this time towards his head. Hop’s eyes were wide in fear.  _ Move, move. _ His legs gave out, too much pain and blood pooling at his stomach.  _ Dammit. _ His body limp on the ground.  _ I’m so weak. _ He shut his eyes, scrunching up his face. He was going to die.

_ Wham! _ Trevenant smashed Runerigus into the left wall with his giant wooden hammer. The victory was short-lived. Conkeldurr let out a feral roar as a boulder smashed into Trevenant from behind. With a resounding crack, Trevenant’s left arm was torn off.

Hop reached for a Poké Ball on his belt.  _ Move move move. _ He thought desperately.  _ Why can’t I move? I don’t have time for this. _

_ 11 seconds. _ That was the amount of time Hop had left before everyone on the wrong side of the bullets would be slaughtered. Friend and foe alike.  _ There's not enough time and too many bullets. _ He activated the Poké Ball he grabbed.  _ We can still move the bullets. _ He told himself, full of doubt. Corviknight stared ahead. His eyes round with fear, as he looked at the thousands of bullets that separated them from life and death.

“I’m sorry.” Hop murmured.  _ Why would I think that? I can’t move. Everyone will die. Their Poké Balls wouldn’t be able to protect them from a storm of bullets. Officer Jenny would show up and be killed along with her Pokémon. _ Tears rolled down Hop’s face.  _ There’s only 9 seconds left. I’m such a failure. I should have never become a detective. Everyone’s dying because of me. _

Trevenant let out a deafening roar as Conkeldurr’s unconscious body fell to the ground. He hadn’t given up yet. He let out another blood-curdling roar at Hop and Corviknight.

Something sparked inside of Hop. Desperation coursed through his veins. He wouldn’t allow himself to die in a pathetic way.

“USE BRAVE BIRD ON THE WALL NOW!” Hop screamed at Corviknight. “TREVENANT PICKUP EVERYONE UNCONSCIOUS!” Hop ran over to Zamazenta’s unconscious body, ignoring the pain burning away at his stomach. He smashed a max revive against Zamazenta’s dauntless shield. It broke into a million pieces, each one being absorbed by the large Pokémon. Zamazenta jolted awake and was immediately stabbed with an injection. Hop had promised himself that never in a million years would he drug his Pokémon using something like an X attack. Yet here he was.

Corviknight smashed himself into the pinkish-purple wall beak first. He reeled back in pain, his beak bleeding, then smashed it again creating a large crack in the wall. Zamazenta’s dauntless shield glowed, growing in size before he threw himself at the crack Corviknight created. The wall shattered, Zamazenta fell outside of the box. He was alive.

_ 3 seconds. _ Corviknight flew out through the opening.

_ 2 seconds. _ Trevenant squeezed through, carrying the unconscious bodies of the enemies he had beaten.

_ 1 second. _ Hop ran at the opening, every fiber in his body screaming in pain, his mind hazy and vision blurry.

_ 0 seconds. _ Bullets scorched land that Hop stood on less than a moment ago. He fell to the ground breathless and unable to move. His eyes slowly closing.

_ Bang! _ The gunshot could be heard for miles, cutting through the silence of the night. Hop hadn’t registered the noise. The sound of his heart beating and blood rushing through his body drowned out all other noises. When had the ground felt so warm and wet?

Hop forced his eyes open. He was lying in a large puddle of blood, but that wasn’t what he noticed.

Across from him, the Rotom fell to the ground. It let out a few weak pulses of blue plasma. The unrecognizable piece of scrap that used to be a gun, started to lose its orange coloring. It looked so sad and lonely. Hop reached a blood-soaked hand towards the Rotom. It let out one last pulse of energy before the orange color completely faded away. Its eyes dulled and disappeared. The last expression on its face had been one of regret when staring at the only person who cared enough to reach a hand out in its final moments.

Hop’s vision went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Ending on a cliffhanger tho.
> 
> If you have anything to say about the work, I'd be happy to hear.  
> Like plz leave comments or feedback.


	3. Maiden of the Mist p1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter :D I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Warning: alcohol use. I don't think its alcohol abuse but I've never drunk alcohol before so idk.
> 
> Also this chapter isn't as dark as the last one.

Hop stood alone against an endless void of darkness. _Where am I?_ He thought, his arms shivering in the cold.

He extended his arms forward, looking down at the sleeves of the beige jacket he was wearing. He was in his casual clothing. His hand patted at the empty space where his Poké Ball belt usually was. He really was alone.

Hop suddenly turned around. He didn’t know why, but it just felt right. In the distance, he could see a while speck getting closer and closer. _Wooloo._ As Wooloo ran closer to him, a bright light suddenly appeared around Wooloo. The silhouette of his form changing behind the light. The Pokémon stopped in front of Hop, and the light faded. Before him, was his precious Dubwool. His first ever Pokemon.

Two more lights suddenly filled up the void. Cinderace and Corviknight appeared next to Dubwool. He smiled, of course, he’d never be alone. His friends would always be there for him no matter what.

Suddenly dozens of lights filled up the void. Hop blocked some of the blinding light with his arm. Cramorant, Trevenant, Heatmor, Snorlax, Bolthund, and the rest of Hop’s Pokémon were standing right before him. In the background, he could see Gloria, Leon, his mom, Raihan, Bede, Sheildbert, Officer Jenny, Nurse Joy, and the rest of the people he met along his journey. His arms relaxed, it was so warm.

No matter what he would never be alone.

Hop reached his hand out to pat Dubwool on the head. His eyes widened in horror. The moment his hand touched the top of Dubwool’s head, Dubwool exploded into a cloud of ash.

“NOOO!” Hop screamed, while wildly waving his arms around trying to grab his other Pokemon. Each time he touched another Pokemon, they exploded into a cloud of ash as well.

“Please, please, this can’t be happening.” Hop begged. Everyone around him turned into ash, forming a swirling storm of ash around him. He fell to his hands and knees, the ash burning his eyes and throat. Tears welled up in his eyes. He was all alone. Cold.

 _Oh, that's right._ He thought miserably. _I was too weak, I couldn’t save anyone._

Ash covered him like snow. His vision was hazy. 

Suddenly Leon’s voice filled up the void, echoing.

“Hop, it’s too dangerous.”

“You're going to get hurt.”

“Why do you keep insisting?”

“I’m not letting you.”

“I don’t get it why does it matter so much?”

“As long as I’m the chairman I’ll never let you become a detective!”

Each time Leon spoke, his voice crescendoed, until he was screaming.

Everything went black.

* * *

  
  


Hop woke up with a yell. He was drenched in sweat and covered in bandages. He had a cast around his left arm and an IV tube bandaged to his right arm.

“Hopscotch it’s okay, you’re safe.”

Hop looked to his right. Raihan was sitting on a chair to his right, looking at him. Raihan’s eyes were round, full of concern. To his left, light shone through the curtains of the large window. He was lying down on a light blue mattress, with a white blanket on top of him.

Memories of the night flooded his mind. He jolted up.

“Where is everyone?” Hop asked, panicking.

“All of your Pokémon are fine…” He paused, averting his gaze from Hop. “Except for Trevenant. He’s in the hospital as well, but he should be fine.” Due to Trevenant’s ghostlike nature, he could take more major hits without permanent damage.

“What about the Rotom?” His voice was full of doubt. Deep down he already knew the answer.

Raihan was silent.

“Raihan, he’s fine right?” His voice was shaky.

“I’m sorry.”

Hop stared down at the blanket. His eyes were red and glassy.

“Gloria will be here soon, she went to get food.” Raihan tried to change the topic.

“I want my Pokémon.” Hop stated plainly.

“They’re at the police station with officer Jenny.” He paused, “I can bring out my guys if you want.” Raihan offered, trying to cheer up Hop any way he could.

“What about the others?” Hop asked, ignoring Raihan’s offer.

“They should be wherever you left them. Uh- I can go get them.”

“They’re with Sonia.”

“I’ll tell Sonia to bring them.” Raihan messed nervously with the strings on his hoodie. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”

“No.”

They sat in silence for around 5 minutes waiting for Gloria. Raihan sent a message to Sonia while waiting.

The door slowly creaked open. Gloria entered the room holding a brown bag with a picture of a [ Swirlix ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/b/bf/684Swirlix.png/250px-684Swirlix.png) on it. Her eyes widened when she noticed Hop was awake. She threw the bag on a nearby table and ran over to Hop, putting her hands on the plastic railing of the bed.

“I- I’m so glad you’re okay.” She wiped away tears from her eyes. “I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you.” She choked on her words.

“I- I brought Eternatus if you still need it.” She forced a smile.

Raihan stood up, “Gloria let’s not talk about that.”

“It’s fine.” Hop grumbled.

Raihan picked up the brown bag off of the table. “Why don’t you eat?” 

“I’m not hungry.”

“Look Hop it’s okay. You’re safe.” Gloria reached out her hand towards Hop.

“I can’t believe it.” He murmured to himself while placing his hand on his forehead. “I’m still so weak.”

Gloria placed her hand on Hop’s shoulder. “You’re strong, none of us would be able to do anything.”

“Yeah, you’re one of the strongest people I know.” Raihan added.

“Shut up!” Hop batted away Gloria’s hand. “It doesn’t matter how strong I am, I wasn’t strong enough!” Hop yelled.

“Don’t tell yourself that.” Raihan raised his voice. “I sparred with you, to help you with anything goes battles, you’ve gotten so much stronger.”

“Raihan, it's been 6 years. Of course, I’m stronger. That doesn’t change the fact that I couldn’t do anything. After all this time I’m still useless.” Hop lowered his hand. “I just need some alone time… please.” He looked up at Gloria and Raihan, holding back tears.

* * *

Hop sat in his Hospital bed for 3 hours. It was now dark outside, the time was 8:43. A nurse had checked in on Hop and gave him some medicine. He’d been shot in the left shoulder. He wouldn’t be able to move it for a while. In his right arm, the IV tube in his shoulder was feeding him nutrients, they’d been worried that Hop would be out cold for a lot longer.

The door creaked open and closed. Hop looked up. It was Officer Jenny. She stood in front of the closed door, looking at the ground.

“I’m sorry it was my fault.”

Hop stared at her dumbfounded. “What are you talking about?”

“It was your first day, I should have never let you do that. What was I thinking?” She said exasperated. 

“Look it doesn’t matter anymore.” Hop sighed. “I was still weak.”

“Hop look at me please.” Officer Jenny said softly. “I was your superior, no matter how strong you were, I shouldn’t have let you chase a guy like that. Noone on their first mission, no matter how strong they are, would be prepared to fight someone like that.” She walked over to Hop.

“If- if I never became a detective, then that Rotom would have never died.” Hop said weekly

“Look, the fact is that you’re still alive, and because you chased him, no matter how reckless it was, we can save more Rotoms.” She hesitated before finishing her sentence.

“Save more Rotoms? What are you talking about.”

“Rotoms can't just possess any gun, it has to be heavily modified for that to work.” She paused, still a bit hesitant. “We did analysis on the gun and it wasn’t handmade. The entire thing was manufactured by a machine - someone’s manufacturing them.” She extended her hand towards Hop. “We can still make this right, save those Rotoms. As detectives.”

Hop closed his eyes in a moment of self-reflection before reaching out and grabbing her hand. “As detectives.” He murmured.

They let go and Officer Jenny walked back towards the door. She opened it a bit and stuck her head out. “You guys can come in now.”

Dubwool, Cinderace, Corviknight, and Zamazenta bolted out of the door and to Hop’s bed. Cinderace burst out in tears, making incoherent noises. The rest of his Pokémon looked at him teary-eyed, glad that he was okay. 

Hop reached his hand out to pat Dubwool on the head. He flinched before touching the top of Dubwool’s head. When his hand made contact with warm and fuzzy wool he smiled weekly. He lifted his hand up and patted Cinderace on the head, trying to calm him down.

“It’s okay, I’m here. I won’t ever leave you guys.” Hop murmured. He moved his hand to Zamazenta’s chin, scratching it lightly. Zamazenta let out a few reassuring barks.

“Don’t worry I know you did your best after I fainted. It must have been difficult.” Zamazenta was silent for a moment. He nodded vigorously as a few tears fell down his face.

Corviknight was staring at the floor, unable to make eye contact with Hop. Hop reached down and ruffled Corviknight’s feathers. “It’s not your fault, you don’t need to blame yourself.” 

Corviknight let out a squawk in protest, he’d been the one that didn’t take the case seriously, and he gave up hope the moment he left his Poké Ball.

“It’s okay, we all need to get a little stronger.” Hop looked up towards Officer Jenny who was still standing at the door. “Where’s Bolthund?”

“He was really tired, he’s still resting with Nurse Joy.” Officer Jenny averted her gaze, “Do you want to know what happened with the shard thief?”

Hop let out an uncomfortable sigh, “What happened.”

“The thief didn’t have the shard with him, the trail’s gone cold.”

“Can’t you question the thief?” Hop asked.

“He was,” Officer Jenny paused uncomfortably, “mauled to death.”

Zamazenta made a couple of proud barks.

“He deserved it.” Hop sighed, he wasn’t sure what he felt. Relief, happiness, anger, or regret? Maybe a part of him was happy the man died.

“Yeah… I’m sure you’re tired and need some rest.” Officer Jenny quickly left before Hop could ask anything about the Rotom gun investigation.

Hop relaxed for one of the first times that day. He was surrounded by his Pokémon, friends and they were all safe. He smiled, because of everyone’s efforts they would be able to help more Pokémon. He closed his eyes, basking in the warmth.

* * *

The following morning, a nurse with her [ Lilligant ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/2/21/549Lilligant.png/250px-549Lilligant.png) gave Hop his medications. They removed the IV tube attached to his right arm, and Lilligant used ‘Aromatherapy, calming Hop’s body. He would be discharged at around noon but was informed not to perform any strenuous activities like exercising. His Pokémon were still sleeping, they must have gotten little sleep being worried about him.

Hop opened Instagram on his Rotom Phone. Raihan hadn’t posted anything since the ones he posted during the police investigation.

“Can you tell everyone I’ll be discharged at around noon.” He sent a quick message to Raihan.

Hop looked through his DMs. Shielbert had sent a message to him that said, he wanted to talk somewhere private where they couldn’t be overheard. _What could be so important?_ Hop thought.

His thoughts were interrupted by knocking at the door.

“Come in.” Hop said without looking up. It was probably just another visit from a nurse.

“Hop.”

Hop’s eyes widened recognizing the voice, his head snapped towards the door. “Lee.”

“I’m so glad you're okay.” 

“Don’t worry I’m okay, thanks for checking up on me.” Hop forced a smile, knowing what else Leon wanted to talk about.

“You’re not still thinking of becoming a detective, are you? You’ve had enough right?” His voice was soft, but his expression was anything but soft.

Hop gulped. “No of course not, you don’t have to worry about me doing anything like that.” He lied nervously.

Leon said something about helping Hop get a job, but Hop didn’t register anything. He froze. Something felt off. “Lee, how did you know I was in the hospital?” Hop had talked to all of his close friends, and those in the police academy about keeping his detective work a secret.

“Oh, the hospital contacted me.”

Hop gripped the bedsheets. _Why are you lying?_ Hop thought. He had looked at the paperwork for the hospital. Raihan had filled most of it out when he was asleep, and nowhere was Leon written as a contact.

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything.” Hop chose his next words carefully. “Do you think the guy deserved what happened?”

“Yes, of course he did! Do you see now how dangerous the world is, there are murderers, and I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.” Leon smiled at Hop.

“Lee. How do you know all of that? That he was a murderer, and he died?” Leon froze, his breath hitched. The room was dead silent. It was like time froze for a moment.

“I just looked, as the chairman at the um-” Leon stumbled over his words.

“Police reports?” Hop interrupted.

“Y-yeah those.” Leon scratched the back of his head nervously.

“I haven’t written it yet.”

“You had a partner right? I just looked at that one.” Leon averted his gaze.

“Leon you’re a terrible liar.” His voice was full of malice.

Leon realized he screwed up the moment Hop stopped calling him by his nickname. “Look Hop it’s just that I’m really worried about you, and that I still think that you shouldn’t do this detective stuff.”

“When did things get so bad between us? We can’t even have an honest conversation anymore.” Hop sighed. Ever since the Galar Particle panic things between the brothers began to become tenser. That was when Hop first decided to become a detective.

“Look I’m sorry, I’ll just leave. Don’t become a detective Hop.” Leon headed to the door.

“Lee, I want to know the truth, I’m curious… as a detective.” Hop’s expression was cold, his gaze seemed to look directly into Leon’s soul.

“I- I don’t have time for this.” Leon slammed the door shut.

Hop sighed, looking at the table to his right. Corviknight was sleeping next to the brown bag. _Battle Café._ He thought, noticing the picture of Swirlix on the bag. He put his hand into the bag and pulled out an egg salad sandwich. His favorite. Hop smiled, perhaps he’d been too harsh with Gloria and Raihan yesterday. He’d have to apologize later.

Hop scarfed down the sandwich. He really was hungry. He reached in the bag to see if there was anything else. He pulled out a butterscotch scone. Corviknight’s eye peeked open, observing Hop bringing the scone to his mouth. Corviknight’s stomach growled.

Hop turned towards the proud bird who was looking away, with a blush. Hop chuckled before breaking the scone in half and leaving one of the halves in front of Corviknight. Corviknight hesitantly took a bite. And then another. And another, until all that remained were crumbs.

“Wow you really were hungry, I'll make some curry for you guys later.” Hop said in between bites of his scone.

“Hmpf.” Corviknight turned his head away from Hop.

“I’ll make some dry bone curry~” Hop said playfully.

Corviknight’s head snapped towards Hop, drool forming at the edges of his beak. Upon realizing what he just did, Corviknight’s face lit up in embarrassment. He let out an angry squawk before flying away and perching himself on top of the cabinets.

Hop looked around, Dubwool and Zamazenta were sleeping on the ground next to his bed, while Cinderace slept with his face on the floor and legs on the couch. How did he not have back issues?

* * *

Hop checked the time on his Rotom Phone. 11:18. He traced circles in Dubwool’s wool impatiently. _When are they gonna get here?_

Hop’s head perked up. Knocking on the door. “Come in!” He yelled excitedly.

The door burst open, Gloria ran over to the bed and hugged Hop as gently as she possibly could. “You’re doing better!” 

“Yeah!” Hop paused, “Sorry for snapping at you guys earlier.”

“Don’t worry, it’s all good man.” Raihan leaned on the frame of the doorway.

“The food was really good.” 

Gloria let go of Hop, looking at the empty bag. “Your favorite sandwich right, oh and the scones were Raihan’s idea.”

Hop scoffed.

“What, you didn’t like my joke? Butterscotch scones for Hopscotch.” Raihan sported a playful smirk.

“I wish there was a food I could tease you with.” Hop grumbled.

“How about rye bread Raihan?” Gloria suggested.

“Hmm... that doesn’t roll off of my tongue as well.”

“Excuse me.” The nurse walked in with her Lilligant. “Let me change your casts and bandages real quick, and then you’ll be ready to discharge.”

The nurse changed Hop after shooing everyone else out of the room. Hop looked down and saw his stomach wound for the first time. It really did look pretty nasty, no doubt there would be a scar.

“Try standing.” The nurse instructed.

Hop slid off the bed and onto his feet.

“You did that pretty easily.”

“Yeah, I had to go to the bathroom earlier.” Hop chuckled.

“Oh right, um congratulations on being discharged.” The nurse led Hop out of the room.

After waving a quick goodbye to the nurse they made their way outside.

“Where are we going?” Asked Hop.

“A bar.” Raihan stated plainly.

“What.”

“I rented out the whole focking place, perks of being the champ.” Gloria rubbed her nose excitedly.

They traveled to a remote area in Hammerlock that Hop had never been to before. The bar itself looked pretty fancy. Sonia sat at the bar, drinking some sort of pink cocktail. Her Yamper ran around on the floor excitedly. Sonia also brought Hop’s Heatmor, Cramorant, Pincurchin, and Bolthund.

Bolthund ran, tackling Hop to the ground and licking his face.

“Ow, ow, ow!” Hop cried. “You’re standing on my stomach.” Corviknight swooped in, picking up Bolthund off of Hop.

“Hey, no fair.” Gloria complained while poking Sonia, ”don’t start drinking before us.”

Sonia chuckled, “early Pidgeotto gets the Caterpie.”

“What are you a boomer?” Raihan teased.

“I’m only a bit older than you.” Sonia pouted, a bit tipsy.

Gloria and Raihan let out all their Pokémon. All the Pokémon, except Hop’s Snorlax who violated a couple of size restrictions were running around wild causing a mess. Some of them might have accidentally drunk some of the alcohol.

Raihan slammed a glass of beer on the counter. “And then after all of that talk he lost so easily!” Raihan was wheezing, slamming his fist on the table laughing. “You should have seen the look on his face!” Raihan was by no means a light drinker, but 7 beers was no means a light drink.

He smiled looking around a bit. Gloria was cursing at the chandelier on the ceiling, while Sonia was listening to Raihan’s stories, very tipsy. He took another sip at his second beer. Maybe he should indulge himself, just once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you enjoyed it! Please leave any comments of suggestions if you have any.
> 
> Since Galar is based on England and Scottland, I'm having it so the legal drinking age 18.  
> Gloria and Hop are both 20 btw.


	4. Maiden of the Mist p2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay new chapter I hope you enjoy :D  
> This chapter's a lot shorter because I've been really trying to mess and play around with my writing style. Let me know if you like it.

Gloria’s astute black suit harshly cut through the cone of light surrounding her. A flood of flashes and clicks bombarded her senses. Gloria closed her eyes and slowed her short quick breaths. She slapped her cheeks until they were rosy. Her eyes opened, staring at the sea of faces with burning conviction. _You got this._ She thought with a wicked grin.

“Citizens of Galar!” she screamed, raising a clenched fist into the air. “As the champion, I’ve been invited to represent all of you in a champion brawl! Eight champions of different regions have been invited to the Aloha region.” A projector behind her flickered alive. Eight faces appeared on the screen, each filled with conviction and determination. “In exactly one month, I’ll prove to the world just how strong we are, and in exactly one month, we _will_ be known as the strongest region.”

A chorus of screams erupted. Shirts, bottles, papers, anything was thrown in the air. _Galar really is the best._

* * *

Hop’s hazel eyes darted around, scanning the area. He slipped into the tall alleyway as silently as he came. He slowly walked down the graffiti-filled alleyway, with light steps. Shielbert sat on a worn-down wooden crate propped against the back of the alleyway. They made eye contact, Shielbert’s silvery-blue eyes glassy with dark circles underneath them. His normally posh hair was wiry and full of grease.

“Were you followed?” Shielbert’s voice was low and hush.

“No, what happened?” 

“Have you ever heard of an organization called,” Shielbert paused, hesitantly. “The darkest thorn.”

“Rumors?” Hop scanned Shielbert, trying to read his emotions. “Or something more?”

“People in dark clothing approached Sordward and I.” Sheilbert’s eyes darted around as if at any moment he would be pounced on. “They wanted to learn more about Galar Particles, but worse, they knew about _everything._ ”

Hop raised his hands, motioning in a calming gesture. “Calm down… what do you mean by everything?”

“One week ago, they knew about the champion tournament, they even knew the area would be in an ultra wormhole.”

“That’s an issu-” Hop began.

“You don’t understand!” His voice quieted to a whisper that could die out on even the smallest breeze. “The only ones that know about that are Gloria, Leon, and a couple of the higher ups that Leon works with… If someone that high up is involved in this Darkest Thorn, I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s capable of.”

“That’s why you had me come out to a desolate part of Wynton,” Hop murmured. “Who knows how many of them could be crawling around us.”

“They told me that they were going to do something with Galar Particles when the champions enter the wormhole.” Shielbert looked down guiltily. “I’ve been too afraid to say anything. If I just start trying to cancel the tournament, they’ll know it’s me, and who knows what they might do to me?”

Hop was silent. Depending on how large their network was they would be able to learn a lot about their potential enemies. They might even know about the details of a case that hasn’t been reported yet. _No._ Leon would never do anything like that. Right? _All Lee cares about is his stupid Pokémon battles._ Leon was a man who became chairman just to make a tower for Pokémon battles. There was no reason why he would involve himself with this.

“I understand, I won’t tell anyone.” Suddenly his eyes lit up, “Wait, Galar Particles. Would something like a shard of Eternatus’ egg have leftover Galar Particles?”

“Most definitely, Eternatus was the one that first brought Galar particles to the region thousands of years ago.” The muscles in his face relaxed, and his word choice had returned to his normal pompous way of speaking. “I’m glad to have such a reliable friend like you. I hope your arm recovers quickly.”

Hop forced a smile, then waved goodbye to Shielbert. As he trudged to the nearest train station, the events of the previous week swirled through his mind. The thief had stolen a shard of the egg instead of buying it. _They’re monitored, so they wouldn’t be able to do something like extracting the Galar Particles without raising suspicion._ Furthermore, the public robbery might have been a signal of some sort to other members of the organization.

Hop entered the train to Hammerlock. He sat down, barely registering his surroundings. _Darkest Thorn_ Hop thought. An organization that messed with Galar Particles. The Darkest in its name no doubt referencing the Darkest Day. Meaning, the “Thorn” part was somehow related to _Chairman Rose._ At the former chairman’s own request, he was still doing community service under constant surveillance for starting the Darkest Day in the middle of a packed arena. There was no way he was directly involved with the group. _Unless everyone there was working with Darkest Thorn._

Hop shook his head. He wasn’t getting anywhere just thinking about it. He’d have to do independent research later. 

Once the train skidded into Hammerlock station, Hop bolted towards the police station.

The sliding door slammed open, “Sorry I’m 6 minutes late.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me.” Officer Jenny said dryly while shuffling through the mountain of papers scattered around her desk.

Hop sighed while plopping down into his desk next to Officer Jenny. “Rotom, bring up the list of potential factories.” The Lavender Rotom phone zipped out of his pocket. Light flowed out from the camera, forming a tangible panel of light in the air in front of Hop

“We’ve been looking at these factories for the past three days and we’ve only eliminated one.” Hop let out an exasperated sigh. “I wish they would approve our search warrants so we could just bust in and see if there’s any signs of Rotom Guns.”

“I’ve asked Nurse Joy to send me a list of all suspected criminals with Rotoms.” 

“She’s definitely going to kill you.”

“I know.”

As if on cue, Officer Jenny’s Rotom Phone burst out from underneath a pile of papers and started shaking violently. “Riiiiiiing, zzzziiiiiing, riiiiiiiing!” 

Officer Jenny pressed the accept button and scrunched up her face preparing for an outraged mouthful from the other end.

“I’ve sent you the list.” Nurse Jenny said calmly. “By the way, congratulations on becoming a Detective I.” Click.

Officer Jenny hurled a pencil across the room while cursing loudly. She blew up every time someone mentioned her recent demotion from Detective II to Detective I.

“Uhh, why don’t we look at the list that Nurse Joy prepared for us.”

“Fine. Rotom, open the list.”

Hundreds of names flooded the screen, and the list zipped down, barely keeping up. Hop and Officer Jenny spent the next hour, painstakingly sorting the data into various different graphs.

“Ahhhh,” Hop said while frantically scratching his head. “All of the graphs look the same.”

“Welcome to being a detective. For the record I’m not finding anything either, wait,” a graph lit up on the Rotom’s screen. “Look at this, around 2 months ago there was a small spike of Rotoms in Circhester.”

“Circhester? Rooms aren't native to Circhester or any of the surrounding areas, this could be something.”

“Hey, don’t get too excited now. I said _small_ spike, it’s probably nothing. But,”

“ _But?”_ Hop mimicked.

“It’s the only lead we’ve got so we might as well check it out.

The train ride to Circhester was a silent one. Hop rolled his Poké Balls in his hand. He brought a battle oriented team.

He wasn’t going let a repeat of last time happen.

As they stepped off the train, a rush of cold air hit them. Snow flickered unnaturally in the sky, forming small piles of snow, whitening the already monotonous reddish-brown bricks.

Hop called out three of his Pokémon. Corviknight and Cinderace shivered on the ground in front of Hop, despite their fur and feathers. On the other hand, Pincurchin sat on his shoulder, letting a small layer of greyish snow cover her. After all, she first met Hop in the waters of Circhester bay, which sent burning jolts of icy cold pain through the bodies of anyone unlucky enough to touch it.

They trudged slowly through the never-ending carpet of thick snow towards a rusty abandoned factory off of Route 9. 

“Wait,” Officer Jenny said while grabbing the back of Hop’s Jacket. “There’s no snow on the top of the roof.”

“Then we have to go, and put an end to this.”

“Don’t be rash, you’re only going to get yourself hurt… _again_.”

“Rotom, call the Circhester police station for backup, quietly.”

“Yezzip ma’am.” Officer Jenny’s Rotom Phone beeped softly.

“I’ll take a look ahead,” Hop said.

“Only look, don’t you dare do anything beyond that.” Officer Jenny stared at Hop with a dark complexion.

Hop and Cinderace trailed closely behind Coviknight’s flying metallic body as they slowly neared the rusty building. Pincurchin had now swapped shoulders to Cinderace’s.

 _What’s that putrid acidic smell?_ A small fizzing noise echoed quietly off of the hollow metallic walls of the building.

Hop’s hand shot towards his Poké Balls, his eyes wide and face contorted. For a moment everything was deathly silent. Hop’s mouth opened, but his scream was never heard.

A giant explosion burst out of the building. Snow swirled violently around the spinning black and red mushroom of fire. The ground wailed, large chunks of shrapnel launched in every which direction, clanging against the ground.

Zamazenta’s shield overflowed with reddish energy as he hurled himself into the sky, bashing into debris. Snorlax let out a deafening cry as a thin layer of metallic plating formed around his body. He thrust his fist forward, violently twisting the piece of debris flying at him, and sent it back flying in the direction it came from. From the back, Corviknight furiously beat his wings, creating a stream of air, guiding and enhancing the movements of the others.

Hop’s body shuddered with the ground, sweat beaded down his forehead and a crashing feeling rattled his head. If he had called out his Pokémon a moment slower, he would’ve been reduced to a blotchy red corpse underneath a dark chunk of metallic shrapnel.

“Hop!” Officer Jenny screamed as loud as her lungs would permit.

Tiny ribbons of metal and swirling clouds of ash blotted out the sky. Black hot rain hammered down into the wreckage, bouncing unorderly off of metal pieces pointing in every direction.

Hop tore down the field, and jumped into the smoking debris. There _had_ to be something left. There _would_ be a clue somewhere. He reached down trying to move a cube of metal.

“Shit.” Searing white pain burned through his now smoking flesh. Ash filled his lungs and charred the edges of the hair.

He slammed his foot against the metal over and over again until it bruised. He didn’t care. With a resounding crack, the scrap flipped over, revealing heavily modified guns.

Doubling over in pain, Hop choked, trying to breathe. The edges of his clothing lit ablaze. Suddenly a large gust of wind hit him, knocking him over. Gasping, clear air filled his lungs. Corviknight squawked furiously at his reckless trainer.

“Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed?” Officer Jenny yelled over the ruined walls.

“I found Guns Customized for Rotoms.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Get back here now.”

Hop reached towards the guns, but Corviknight batted his hand away with his wing. After picking up the gun with his talons, Corviknight flapped his wings, leading Hop out of the smoky mess.

“You could have died. Why do you keep doing this? If we just waited for the smoke to clear, you wouldn’t have to almost die.”

“Let’s analyze this gun so we can get more clues,” Hop said apathetically.

 _Wack._ Officer Jenny held her outstretched palm in the air. “You can’t help anyone if you’re dead.”

“Stop telling me what to do. You’re not my superior anymore.”

“It doesn’t matter if I’m your superior or not, you can’t just run in and kill yourself every time something happens.”

“Is everything alright?” A few voices called out behind them. A patrol unit of cops rushed towards them crunching through snow.

“I’m fine,” Hop called out.

“I’m taking you to the hospital whether you want me or not.” Said Officer Jenny.

“What about the case?”

“Your hand is smoking. What the hell is wrong with you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hoped you enjoyed!
> 
> I tried describing stuff a lot more vividly than I have before so this was definitely a first for me. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, so I think that I'm probably going to continue writing like this in the future.
> 
> Any comments, suggestions, or any feedback is much appreciated.


	5. Maiden of the Mist p3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this new chapter!
> 
> It took me a bit longer to upload than usual so sorry about that.
> 
> Also I kinda just stopped saying stuff like Herdier used 'protect', and instead just described the move.

A tall brooding woman sat alone in an empty room, shadows masking the features of her face. The screen in front of her filled the room with sickly pulsing blue light.

Her face lit up as a dazzling explosion spilled forth from the corners of her screen. Mouth curled into an unnatural grin and blinding white teeth reflected light. An outstretched hand reached towards the ceiling, draped in white cloth.

Strained laughs and giggles bounced hollowly off of the empty walls of her abode.

“Oh, I hope they thoroughly enjoyed the _present_ I left them.” She bounced off her chair, twirled around the room, white ribbons danced around her, following her every movement.

Static filled the room, the screen abruptly switching to black and white specs swimming around. As abruptly as the screen, the women froze mid-spin, silky ribbons gently floating to the floor. Kneeling down, she threw an outstretched arm towards a shadowy corner of the room. Piercing blue eyes locked onto something.

“Was it beautiful?”

An alien clicking fizz emanated from the corner, as powdery snow filled the room like sparkling mist.

* * *

Officer Jenny’s head perked up towards barking. Herdier was running in circles around a tree just far enough from the factory explosion to not be incinerated. _This could be it._ She thought while jogging over.

A charred lump of metal was sitting on the floor. It was twisted at sharp degrees and the edges jagged. It was unmistakably a camera, or used to be one.

Snow crunching cut her thoughts in two. Behind her stood two figures draped in dark cloaks. They stood in harsh contrast to the field of snow, both wearing a necklace with a strange dangling rainbow-colored orb. Officer Jenny slowly stood up, her left hand on her Poké Balls, and her right curled around the handle of a pistol.

“This area is closed off from the public, what are you doing here?”

“ _Oh?_ Where's that partner of yours? Did he die in the explosion?” The first person snickered.

Officer Jenny simultaneously called out the rest of her Pokémon and cocked the gun towards the figures. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be against you in a court of law.”

“And you have the right to… _eat lead!_ ” The second person said as two Rotom Guns flew out of their cloaks. Deafening gunshots rumbled throughout the field. A green energy barrier formed in front of Herdier’s face and spread out deflecting the hammering pelts of death.

A bone-chilling tremor groaned from underneath them. A geyser of snow, dirt, and rock knocked them into 15 ft. into the air. A roar vibrated through the air, as a giant [ Onix ](https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/large/onix.jpg) burst out of the earth, mouth agape. Purple-blue energy whirled around Granbull’s claws and teeth, his face contorted in fury. Using a boulder as a foothold, Granbull shot down from the sky, crashing into the top of Onix’s head. Onix screeched as blows rained down in it, chunks of rock breaking off of its head.

Thick silky threads flowed out the tip of Ariados’ abdomen, catching everyone as they plummeted towards the ground. Not letting up, the hail of bullets continued, cracks forming on Herdier’s shield. Chatot analyzed the motions Herdier used and mimicked them with near perfection. A second barrier of energy appeared right as the first shattered.

A dozen Pokémon were waiting for them on the ground, charging straight towards them. Ferrothorn hurled itself over the edge of the protective shield, tanking bullets, and attacked in the process. His entire body glowed for a moment, then a giant flash of light encased the battlefield, and a boom rang out.

Officer Jenny prepared a max revive and called Ferrothorn back. Behind them, Granbull jumped down from the broken Onix’s body while letting out a roar, eyes clouded with rage.

The second hooded figure looked over her motionless partner and the scores of unconscious Pokémon. She looked up towards the flickering crack-filled green barrier. “This isn’t over yet!”

With a flash of red light, a [ Beedrill ](https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/large/beedrill.jpg) wearing a black bandana appeared on the battlefield. Strange purplish energy flowed out of a yellow and black stone embedded into the bandana and connected to similar white-colored energy flowing out of the person’s necklace.

“Beedrill, mega evolve!” The energy swirled around Beedrill’s body, the stingers on its arms and abdomen grew, and its legs morphed into large stingers. An extra pair of wings branched out from the top pair of wings, its round eyes narrowed and antenna flattened. ([ Mega Beedrill ](https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/large/beedrill-mega.jpg))

The lithe jet-like creature burst out of the veil of energy and zipped across the battlefield. Clicking her gun to stun mode, Officer Jenny fired. The Beedrill twirled around the dart, it’s stingers swishing through the air like swords. A fury of slices cut through the energy shield like paper and ribbons of greenish venom trailed behind each slash. Blood spewed out of gash marks in Officer Jenny and her companions.

Quickly recoiling from her injury, Ariados launched purple poisoned filled threads out of her abdomen. Klefki flowed suit. Pink chains surrounded them, preventing anyone from leaving. Although unaffected by the toxins, the threads slowed Beedrill’s movement. But not enough. Beedrill mounted its counterattack. It flew a loop midair building up speed before wacking Ariados with the blunt of its stingers, sending the arachnid flying into a tree.

Officer Jenny pointed her gun at the deadly insect and pulled the trigger. At the last moment, she flinched, missing her shot. Pain bubbled at the would across her chest and flared across her body. Each beat of her heart made it worse. Not registering his pain, Granbull launched itself at Beedrill. A claw bursting with purple-blue energy connected with the top of the insect’s head, smacking it into the ground.

Using the opportunity created by Granbull, Herdier thrust with his hind legs and threw himself at Beedrill. Orange energy burst out of Herdier’s body upon impact. The blast knocking Herdier away. Beedrill hissed in pain and jabbed a filled stinger towards Officer Jenny.

“Riiiing, Riiiing!” Beedrill stopped in its tracks startled.

“You havzzzz an incoming call from Nurzzzz Joy!” Rotom said.

Mirroring Breedrill’s attack, Chatot thrust its beak forward and pierced Beedrill’s back. With one final hiss of agony, the Beedrills body thumped against the ground. Purplish energy radiated off of its body like mist as its form shrank, returning to normal.

On the opposing side of the field, the cloaked lady’s body went limp, falling onto the floor. When in mega-evolution, both the trainer and the Pokémon’s senses are synced. All feelings, including pain, were shared.

* * *

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Nurse Joy said back turned towards the entrance of the Pokémon Center while tossing and Ultra Ball in the air. Her [ Gardevoir ](https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/large/gardevoir.jpg) stood in a defensive position towards the assailants. Two cloaked figures stood at the entrance of the empty Pokémon Center, Rotom Guns floating by their sides.

“Let's make this quick!” A volley of bullets flew towards Nurse Joy.

Nurse Joy vanished, the bullets zipped through the air Nurse Joy used to be. Blinking into existence behind the figures, Nurse Joy activated two of her Ultra Balls. A [ Vanilluxe ](https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/large/vanilluxe.jpg) floated in the air above Nurse Joy, each exhale producing icy mist. Two Icicles formed in the air next to it then were fired out. The Rotom Guns were knocked out of the sky, each icicle shattering upon impact.

The giant claw of Nurse Joy’s [ Scizor ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/5/55/212Scizor.png/1200px-212Scizor.png) bashed against the head of one of the assailants, knocking the limp body to the ground. Startled, the remaining attacker jumped back and pulled a Poké Ball out of his cloak. The sleeve of his arm rolled down revealing a white Dynamax band. The red X shape glowed, energy feeding into the Poké Ball.

 _Dynamax? That’s impossible._ Nurse Joy thought. It was only possible to Dynamax Pokémon at a Dynamax hotspot, the Pokémon center wasn’t one of them.

“Wait, stop, I’ll do whatever you want.” Nurse Joy said. The Pokémon center was next to a residential area. Who knew how much damage a Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokémon could do. _How many casualties?_

“That’s what I thought.” The cloaked man held the now giant Pokéball with both his hands.

“Rotom, call Officer Jenny, _quietly_.” She whispered.

“Hmm, that sounds appetizing.” His fingers danced dangerously around the activation button on the Poké ball. “Give me access to all the information stored in that computer terminal of yours.”

“Take it, just don’t harm anyone.”

The man chuckled before turning around, walking towards the terminal, his back exposed. _I can’t risk it._ Officer Jenny thought. Gardevoir had different plans.

Silver moonlight shimmered around Gardevoir’s palms before blasting out towards the man. A shower of silver light exploded on the assailant’s back, knocking him over. But it wasn’t enough.

Reeling in pain on the ground, the man reached out shakily and pressed the button on the Poké Ball, activating it.

* * *

Hop sat in a bland hospital bed. The laughing [ Snorunts ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/6/6b/361Snorunt.png) painted on the walls mocked him. They could have at least put him in the same room as his Pokémon. So what if there wasn’t enough space in the cramped ER rooms?

“Bzzzt! Breaking news, [ Gigantamax Sandaconda ](https://www.serebii.net/swordshield/pokemon/844-gi.png) wreaks havoc over residential area in Hammerlock.” Hop’s Rotom beeped out.

Hop’s head snapped toward his phone, skimming through the article. The Sandaconda had been taken out by the combined efforts of Raihan, local law enforcement, and civilians before any major damage could be sustained. However, Nurse Joy and her Pokémon were hospitalized.

The color drained out of his face, and chills ran down his spine. He continued reading. A strange insignia was found on the two people believed to have started the incident. A black button with the stem of a rose engraved on it.

He clenched a fist, his knuckles whitening. _I have to do something. But what_?

Hop was silent, riding up the elevator of the battle tower. He had rushed out of the ER with his Pokémon and jumped on the earliest train to Wyndon. He believed Leon wasn’t involved, but he was a detective. Leon knowing about things he shouldn’t and being a higherup was the only lead he had. If you could even call it a lead.

He lurched to a stop. The mechanical whirring of the doors opening echoed endlessly down the hallway with no end in sight. Hop walked down the dim corridor, the empty sound of his footsteps rang through his head.

Six years ago Hop rode the same elevator and walked down the same corridor to confront Chainman Rose and Leon. When Oleana had challenged them, Hop’s legs were lead and his mouth glued shut. He watched as Gloria battled Oleana. Alone.

He would not let that happen again, not while there were lives at stake.

Breaking out into a run, Hop sprinted through the end of the corridor, entering the observation room. It had a built-in Pokémon arena, supporting skyscraper tall Dynamax Pokémon. The paint was still smudged in some areas, from when Gloria’s [ Inteleon ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/e/e4/818Inteleon.png/250px-818Inteleon.png) launched the final attack. A wide staircase filled up the entire back wall of the arena, leading to the observation deck.

At the bottom step, Hop looked up. Leon stood at the top, making eye contact with Hop. Light shone from behind Leon, dimly brightening the ground Hop stood on.

“Do you need anything?” Leon’s voice boomed out.

“Can-” Hop cut himself off, startled by the loud echoes of his voice. “Can we continue the conversation we were having at the hospital?”

“I told you, I’m too busy for this.”

Hop narrowed his eyes. “Busy doing what?”

“I have many duties and responsibilities as the chairman. My motto is that I’ll make Galar shine.”

“You always talk about making Galar a better place, but all you care about is your Pokémon battles.” Hop took the first step. “All I hear on the news is another renovation to the battle tower, a new stadium popping up, and building a flying hovercraft for Pokémon battles. Get off your high horse.”

“Just because I choose to use Pokémon battles as my means of public morale, doesn’t mean I don’t address the other issues of Galar.” Leon gave his typical well-rehearsed response.

Hop marched halfway up the staircase. His eyes were still well underneath the bottom of Leon’s shoes. “Be honest, all you care about are your Pokémon battles.”

“If you came here to critique then leave. Like I said you’re wasting my time.”

“Wait,” Hop panted, standing face to face with his brother. “How did you know?”

“Know about what? Sorry, I forget things easily, you’re gonna have to be a bit more specific than that.”

“ _Leon._ ”

“I’m sorry.”

“Lee I just want-” Leon’s arms wrapped around Hop in a warm embrace.

“I don’t even know what I was doing all this time. I’m sorry Hop, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, _I’m sorry._ I overstepped my boundaries as chairman, and I didn’t let you do what you wanted. All this time, I was worried about you, I didn’t want you to do anything dangerous, I didn’t want you to get consumed by yourself... like chairman Rose did.”

Tears rolled down Hop’s cheeks as he clutched Leon back.

“Please Hop, just take care of yourself. Look, you can’t move your left arm, and the palm of your right hand is scared.”

“Lee it’s okay, maybe I didn’t act the best I should have either. Hell, I don’t even know why I came here anymore” Their embrace relaxed, and they slowly moved apart. Hop rubbed his face, tears soaking into the smooth material of his glove.

“Is there anything else you need? I’m here if you want to talk.”

“No, I just-”

“Bwwwzzzt! Breaking news!” Hop’s Rotom Phone flew out of his pocket. “Perpetrators of Gigantamax Sandaconda incident found with guns designed for Rotoms. What could this mean for the safety of Galar?”

 _Oh,_ his smile morphed into a frown, _that’s why I came here, what the hell am I doing?_

“Hammerlock’s situation seems dire!” Leon exclaimed unnaturally. “I’ll be off now.”

The giant glass windows behind them slid open, letting in a blast of cold air, almost knocking Hop down the staircase.

“Wait Lee!” Hop yelled, his voice barely audible through the sound of rushing wind.

Leon activated a Poké Ball, calling out his trusted partner, [ Charizard ](https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/large/charizard.jpg).

“I still have a question!” Leon was already gone.

 _Dammit._ He walked down the staircase, cold air ripped through his jacket with each step he took. He sat down on the bottom step, looking at the ground.

He was at the top of the world and yet he could see nothing. 

* * *

Why had Nurse Joy called her? _Whatever she can take care of herself._ Officer Jenny thought. Being rivals during their gym challenge, she experienced Joy’s strength firsthand.

She stood before the bleak Reddish bricks that formed Hotel Ionia. A five-star hotel in Circhester, that only the rich could afford. She looked down at her Rotom Phone, a red dot in the center of the screen representing where she was. Another dot flickered in front of her. After salvaging the malfunctioning camera from the wreckage, it was still broadcasting a signal.

Opening the door, the dazzling light blinded her, everything was dipped in gold and sparkled like rays of sun. A few of the guests wearing exquisite clothing, and sitting in velvet chairs gave her strange looks.

“Our manager would like to speak with you.” The receptionist said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Any feedback is much appreciated.  
> Also, I do kinda know that in England/Scotland they don't really say you have the right to remain silent (at least I don't think) but I kept it in there because it sounded cool.


	6. Maiden of the Mist p4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter :D Hope you like it!
> 
> More Leon and Hop bickering, and people acting more stubborn than they probably should.

Officer Jenny clutched the side of her chest. Each of her movements was sluggish, fatigued. Injury from her previous battle still affected her. She followed the receptionist down an exquisite hall. Framed mirrors, white flowers, and gold-encrusted lamps decorated the walls. The velvety red with golden patterns squished softly against the soles of her worn boots.

_ Maybe I shouldn’t be so reckless. _ Officer Jenny thought. The whole situation seemed like a set-up. It would only take a moment for her to get jumped and taken out for good. But there’s no way they would try something that reckless. Besides, as long as she had her body cam on she’d be fine…  _ right? _

The receptionist came to a stop in front of a room. The label read, Suit 2B. It wasn’t the master penthouse, but Officer Jenny had heard that suits in Ionia could cost upwards of 10 million Pokédollars. The receptionist slowly creaked the door open. Officer Jenny tapped her collar bone, making sure her body cam was working.

“Melony?”

A tall woman draped in white clothing stood at the doorway. “Jenny it’s been awhile! Receptionist told me you were in the area and I was wondering if we could catch up.”

“Sure… I’d love to, but,” Officer Jenny rubbed the back of her head. “I’m kinda in the middle of a case right now. How about afterward?”

“Well, I might be able to help you. We’re doing productions at different hotels across Galar, I have some connections with the staff, so if you need something I can ask.” The actor said. After letting her son Gordie take over the Circhester gym, Melony followed her dreams of becoming an actor. Although she started in the business fairly old, she already starred in a few smash hits and even ran a tv program of her own. Drama was her specialty.

An incest-like clicking noise fizzed from behind her.

“ [ Frosmoth ](https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/large/frosmoth.jpg) , don’t sneak up on visitors like that.” Melony chastised half-seriously.

Officer Jenny turned around and embraced the chilly fuzzy moth. A sharp icy jolt stung her collarbone for a moment.

Officer Jenny let out a high-pitched squeal, “What was that for?” Her cheeks reddened a bit.

The Frostmoth let out playful clicking noises before flying around Officer Jenny and to Melony’s side. Each beat of its thin wings produced a bit of glittery snow that swirled to the floor like mist.

“I’m sorry about that. She’s just a bit excited, one of the scenes earlier today turned out quite beautiful.” the corners of her mouth curled into a grin. “We’re about to shoot another one.”

“Oh, I should probably make it quick then.” Officer Jenny looked down at her Rotom Phone.  _ That’s odd. _ The signal was right in front of her. “Is there another room behind this one?”

Melony reached out towards a hazel wooden door. “You can take that door to the neighbor's room.”

“Still as over-dramatic as always.” Officer Jenny crept around a glass table with velvet chairs and put a hand on the doorknob.  _ It’s unlocked? _ She turned the handle slowly, not particularly worried since knowing Melony’s skills. If they worked together they could take on almost anyone.

Creaking the door open, she peeked inside. It was a dark room with nothing in it, besides a large screen that stood at the end. Sickly blue light pulsed throughout the room. She stepped in noticing that no one was inside.

_ That’s odd, is this the only entrance? _ Officer Jenny thought.

Insect like fizzing noise clicked behind her.

* * *

Hop felt directionless. Officer Jenny had taken the rest of the day off for him, despite no longer being his supervisor.  _ It’s only a small burn. _ He thought while looking at the large prickly burn mark that encompassed his palm- no doubt it would scar.

_ Screw that _ . He’d already traveled all the way to Hammerlock. He might as well work anyway. He walked through the sliding glass doors of the police station.

Katherina, the red-headed receptionist looked up and adjusted her glasses. “You’re off right now, go home.”

“Oh.” Hop was crestfallen for a moment. “Wait, I left something in my office.” It wasn’t technically a lie. The ballpoint pen he left, definitely warranted him coming back to the building during his off time.

“Fine. Go to the office, you workaholic.”

“Thanks!” He waved before running off towards his office.

Hop busted open the door to the office for the second time that day. He sighed while plopping down on his desk. His muscles relaxed and his eyes drooped. The mountain of papers on his desk was oddly comforting.

“Ow.” Picking up a sheet of paper hurt more than he expected. Maybe I really need to rest.  _ What am I thinking? _ He scolded himself. Every second he left the case unsolved, was another second someone could be hurt.

Hop yawned, he leaned down, letting his head rest on the desk. Heavy eyes scanned through pages of text regarding Dynamax technology. At some point his mind wandered, thinking of the fields of Wooloo he used to watch when he was younger. His eyes eventually shut close, inviting sleep into his tired body.

_ Where is Officer Jenny? _ Was the first thing Hop thought when his eyes fluttered open. It was 6:30 pm, Hop’s shift would normally have ended 30 minutes ago. Hop sighed, it was probably nothing. It was more likely that she already left for home, rather than stay at the office.

_ How can I make Lee talk? _ Hop paced around the room. He’d already talked to Leon twice, and he still wasn’t any closer to the truth than the first time. “Ah.” He came to a stop, biting his fingernails.  _ Would that be blackmailing? _ His fist tightened, at this point, it didn’t matter anymore. If Lee was going to keep dancing around his questions he’d have no other choice. He quickly told his Rotom to call Lee, without breaking thought.

His foot tapped impatiently. “Bwwzzt the person didn’t pick up.”

“Continue calling him until he picks up.” He sat down at his desk, blankly looking through papers pretending to be focused on something other than the ringing of his phone.

With the unsoothing noises Rotom was making in the background, Hop opened his computer and looked through the news. First The Darkest Thorn wanted to know about Galar Particles, and now they were already causing Dynamax outside of Dynamax spots.

Hop frowned. It was already resembling what was happening before the events of Darkest Day, but more controlled. Were they really trying to reenact the events of Darkest Day?  _ No that's impossible, Eternatus has been under Gloria’s control for 6 years. _ Even if they did somehow succeed, he and Gloria would just put a stop to it, with Zaician and Zamazenta. 

He scrolled through various articles before one caught his eye. “Chairman Leon leads a new research team on Galar Particles.” He squinted, the research team was interested in the use of Dynamax outside of hotspot and commercial use of Dynamx in things like construction. He did a quick Google search on the topic. One of the researchers opened up a forum asking people for any ideas or suggestions.

_ Interesting _ , he thought while scrolling down at some of the replies. He scoffed. They should at least do their research before suggesting something that might harm the Pokémon. His eyes frolicked around the page, forgetting why he was there in the first place.

“Bwwwzzzt, it’s been 30 minutes and he hazzzn’t picked up. Maybe he blocked youzzz?”

“Two can play at that game.” Hop looked up from his computer “call again, but change the caller ID.”

“But-bwwwzzt! I can’t do that!”

“Its for a very important investigation,” Hop widened his eyes and gave the best puppy dog eyes he could. “I’m sure you could make an exception right? It would be bad if more people got hurt because of us.”

“I- bwwwzzzt guess I can make an ex-zzz-ception…” It paused for a moment, then started vibrating again.

_ It probably won’t work. _ Hop thought. As a chairman, Leon probably got many spam calls from companies or organizations that he didn’t want.

“Hello, who’s this?” Leon’s voice came out of his phone.

_ Did he just pick up? Why… wait what should I say? _ Unintelligible noises came out of Hop’s mouth.

“I’m sorry I didn’t quite catch that, could you repeat that?”

“Oh right, um Lee-”

_ Click. _

Hop glared at the screen. “Again. Call him again.”

Frantically, Rotom started ringing again, shaken up by Hop’s demeanor. “Bwzzzt I think he declined the call.”

“Change the caller ID and then call again.”

Bwwwwzzzt I- I could get in trouble for thizzzwwt”

“So you don’t care about everyone affected by this?” Hop asked innocently. 

“Bwwwzzzt fine, I’ll call as many times as you want…”

This time a sigh came out of the phone, “Hello. Who is this?” Leon sounded slightly irked.

“Lee if you hang up I’m calling the police. Wait, I'm the- nevermind just listen to me Lee.”

“Say something worth my time and I’ll think about it.”

“I’ll start a public investigation about the abuse of your power as chairman.”

Leon was silent for a moment. “Please think about what you're doing. The media’s going to have a field day with that.”

“I know.” Hop was smugger than he needed to be. “Now that I have your attention, why don’t you tell me now as brothers before I have to force the answer out of you as a detective?”

“Body cams. As the chairman, they were available. There, does that make you happy?”

“Lee, I can tell by listening to your voice, you’re lying.” Hop lied.

“I- no I’m not, lying. Hop, you don’t understand I’m prepared to go to court about looking at your police cams, but you can’t claim I’m lying. Not without real evidence.”

“Last time we spoke, you said my hand was burned, even though I was wearing a glove. My body cam was turned off when it was burned.” Hop lied.

Leon was silent for a moment. “The hospital reports. Access to those too.”

“I didn’t go to the hospital.”

“What are you talking about? You went to the hospital.”

_ So, he was telling the truth about the hospital, but not about the body cams? _ Looking at hospital reports was a much less serious crime than looking through unreleased police cams.  _ Why would he cover up knowing about hospital reports with that lie? He’s lying about both? He knew about the hospital, so the truth must be somehow related to that. _

“Have you heard of an organization called The Darkest Thorn?” Hop asked.

Silence answered his question.

“Leon.”

“ _ No. _ Where would one even find such rumors?” 

“ _ Rumors? _ I never said anything about rumors.” Hop said flatly. “Choose your next words carefully.”

“Let’s just talk about this.” Even through the granny speakers of the Rotom Phone, it was clear how shaky Leon’s voice was.

“Then talk.”

“Look, I might have known a few things, but it was just me trying to distance myself from rumors like that. You know, my brand as chairman and everything. It’d be bad for the press to know that because one of our experiments fell into their hands the Sandaconda incident happened.”

_ He’s giving me so many details. Is he still hiding something? _

“I thought we were talking about this as  _ brothers _ ? This is your last chance Leon.”

“Can we talk in private?”

_ Private? Is he worried about the phone call being recorded? _

“Fine.”

“Great,” a sliver of confidence returned to Leon’s voice. “How about in two days at-”

“Where are you right now?”

“I’m in” Leon paused for a moment. “Wyndon.”

“Great I’ll be there in an hour.”  _ Click. _ This time Hop was the one to hang up.

Hop let out a breath of relief. Talking to Leon was taking out more energy than he liked to admit. He changed into his casual jacket, enjoying the relaxing feeling of the soft fabric against his tan skin. Picking up his detective outfit, he grabbed something at the collar and slid it into his pocket.

“Can you open a train schedule?” He told Rotom while fastening his Poké Ball belt to his jeans.

The next train to Wyndon would be at 7:40. His stomach grumbled. He hadn’t eaten anything in almost 12 hours. Taking a quick stop at the Battle Café didn’t seem like a bad idea.

* * *

Handcuffs locked her arms behind her back. Beads of sweat dripped down her body, and her head felt dizzy. Officer Jenny’s eyes snapped open. She analyzed the dark room she was trapped in. Based on the crates and the rumbling of the ground, she was on a plane.

Her Poké Ball belt was gone.  _ Where are they? _ Officer Jenny needed to find them before she escaped. Standing up, she crept around the room. There was a staircase in the back, but more importantly, there were no sharp objects lying around. She could always twist the handcuffs open, but that would create a giant gash in her arm, and an easy to follow blood trail.

A door in the distance creaked open, and she quickly ragdolled and shut her eyes. Footsteps drew closer until they stopped right in front of her.

“No need to act so cold Jenny, I know you’re awake.”

_ Melony. _ Officer Jenny remained still.

“Sweetie, I have cameras installed.”

Opening her eyes, and standing up, Officer Jenny stared directly into Melony’s eyes with a fiery gaze. “If you let me go now, your sentence won’t be as severe.”

“I’ll let you go,” a cruel smile formed on Melony’s face. “By dropping you off of the plane.”

“Wow, those acting lessons sure paid off.” Officer Jenny rolled her eyes.

_ She has her Pokémon, so I can’t beat the shit out of her. _

“Care for a cup of tea?” Melony asked.

“I don’t care for your poisoned tea.”

“And  _ I’m _ known for being the ice-cold professional, but here you are.”

“Where are we?”

“My private jet.”

Officer Jenny took a step forward, “Tell me where we’re going.”

Meeting Officer Jenny’s fiery expression with a stone-cold one, Melony refused to give even an inch of space. “Where’s the fun in spoiling the surprise?”

Officer Jenny shoved her handcuffs at Melony’s collar bone. “Unlock these.”

“Chill out.”

Suddenly an icy breath ran down her spine. Spinning around, she was met face to face with the sinister smile of a floating  [ Froslass ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/a/a2/478Froslass.png/250px-478Froslass.png) . The temperature around her dropped sharply, breaths of air now coming out as swirling mist. When did Froslass get behind her?

Officer Jenny felt a firm grip on her shoulder. “Tell me everything you know.”

_ If I tell her everything that she knows I know, can I get her to trust me? _

“You’re involved with the Rotom guns right? You were watching us at the factory, and then it blew up.”

“What else?”

What else did Officer Jenny know? She thought for a moment and then answered, “There’s probably a black market where you sell them. Maybe it has something to do with your fame as an actor?”

Melony sighed, “I mean, what else do you know about The Darkest Thorn.”

“What? Darkest Day?”

“No,  _ thorn. _ As in the thorns on a rose.”

Officer Jenny stared with a blank expression on her face. “Are you talking about that one conspiracy theory about chairman Rose being Eternatus’ son?”

“No, I’m-” Melony took a few steps back, startled. “Don’t play dumb with me. I know that Hop knows. You do too-  _ right? _ ”

“I don’t know what you’re saying.” What was Melony talking about? How had Hop gotten himself caught up in this? “Is that the name of something?”

“It appears we misjudged Hop.”

_ We? Who else was working with her? _

Melony pulled out a white Rotom Phone from the sleeves of her coat. It was much larger, clunkier, and had arms extended out of the base. It was an Alolan model, those were custom made, and didn’t have to follow the restrictions set by Silph Co.

The Rotom Phone rang a few times, before stopping, a voice came out that was too quiet and far away to hear.

“Don’t worry, It’s me, Melony.” She paused for a moment, letting the other side talk for a moment.

“Yes I know you told me that, but Jenny doesn’t know, which means Hop never told her.”

Muffled noises came out of the phone again.  _ If only I could hear what they were saying. _

“Honestly, I think the kid is being honest with you, he really wants to just chat. This is your last chance with him, use it to get him off our tail.”  _ Click. _

“Now,” Melony turned, looking towards Officer Jenny with a dark complexion on her face. “Why don’t you tell me a few more things that I want to know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You've now finished reading the chapter, I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Lots of suspense in this chapter as well as the characters playing mind games with each other. I didn't know if showing their thoughts that much would slow down the pace or not, but I think it turned out pretty good.
> 
> Let me know how you felt about the chapter, I appreciate any and all feedback!


	7. Maiden of the Mist p5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aight, so I took a bit of time posting this one because it took a bit of research on how to write things- I hope you enjoy!
> 
> This chapter will be the end of the Maiden of the Mist

Hop plopped down on the train seat. He let his legs rest on the white table. The cart itself was empty, albeit the couple that sat in the booth behind him. Usually, around this time, people would be leaving Wyndon after a hard day of work, not going there like he was.

He took a bite of his egg salad sandwich. The flavorful juices spilled into his mouth and ran down his throat. Hop was sure that the only reason that it tasted so good was because he was famished- but that wouldn’t stop him from enjoying the three sandwiches he bought. He needed to at least enjoy something before his dreaded conversation with Leon.

“Did you see the news about Melony?” The woman in the seat behind her asked.

_ Huh, is she talking to me? _ Hop turned around, sandwich in his mouth staring at the women.

A man sitting opposite to the women responded, “No, what happened?”

_ Of course she’s not talking to me, I must really be out of it. _

“She took a sudden vacation to the Aloha region, she was in the middle of recording a show too- I wonder what happened?”

Hop hadn’t seen Melony for almost a year, but he did keep up to date with all the movies she was in. The drama queen made a really convincing antagonist, not many could pull off the vibe of having murdered scores of people so naturally.

“Maybe she’s going to watch the champion brawl that Gloria announced.” The man said.

Hop tuned out of their conversation and returned his focus to his sandwich. The empty seat in front of him made him frown. He took his Pokémon out of their Poké Balls much less frequently than he used to. It was mainly so his Pokémon could conserve their energy as best as they could before an important fight, but it would be a lie to say he didn’t get lonely. Hop reached down at his Poké Ball belt and called out everyone aside from Snorlax, who would damage the train if he was called out.

It was just a normal conversation with Leon, he didn’t need to worry about getting into a fight or anything. Pincurchin sat comfortably on his head, Dubwool sat next to Hop, comfortably leaning against his side. Zamazent was curled up, lying down under the table. Cinderace was sprawled out, taking up the entire seat opposite to Hop, and Corviknight stood upright on the table, staring at the rising moon through the large window. 

After pulling his laptop out of his bag and setting it on his lap, Hop took a spinach leaf out of his second sandwich and placed it on top of his head. He resumed looking through the forum about Dynamax research, while Pincurchin munched away at the spinach leaf, making jubilant squeaks every so often.

In the recent conversation with Leon, his brother mentioned something about Dynamax technology falling in the hands of The Darkest Thorn.  _ It’s probably something worse than that. _ Leon wouldn’t want to talk in private if it was just as simple and innocent as he made out. All of Hop’s worst fears were coming true.

He scrolled to the bottom of the page, the researcher had put a name: Sarah Lott. It seemed familiar, where had he heard something like that before?  _ Orson Lott. _ The person to tried killing Hop over a stupid shard. The monster that tried sacrificing his own Pokémon and killed a Rotom.

Why was Orson stealing the shard, was it for research purposes? His fist clenched, knuckles turning white. Why was he just learning about this Dynamax research now? Usually, things like these would be a big deal.

_ Lee, what are you doing? What are you hiding? _ Hop scowled.

_ Lee, why are you doing this? _ No matter how much Hop tried wrapping his mind around it, he couldn’t think of a reason Leon would involve himself in something like this. If he wanted to improve his Pokémon battles, he could just continue what he was doing before and do things legally.

The question of why loomed over Hop’s head the whole train ride. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find a reason.  _ Maybe I spent too long idolizing him, and now I can’t think of any flaws in his personality. All I see in him is the proud, confident and reliable champion who loved Pokémon battles more than anything else in the world. _

When the train finally pulled up to Wyndon station, his mind was clouded. What would stop this conversation from being as bad, if not worse than the rest of them? The train doors slid open, Hop stepped out into the still air, followed by his Pokémon. Dark angry clouds blotted the stars out of the sky.

Leon was leaning against the wall facing Hop, waiting for him. A shadow covered his face. His arms were crossed around his ruby red suit with white frills at his collar bone. Hop had never seen Leon look so… intimidating. Not even during his battles as the champion. Not even when he battled Eternatus over the fate of the world

“Hop.” Leon stepped out of the dark, both sets of amber eyes making contact with each other, returning each other’s fierce gazes.

No matter how much doubt was eating away at the edges of his body, he had to do this.

“Leon.” Hop closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “Where are we going?”

“Follow me.” It was a simple statement, but it held power and authority. The statement of a boss telling their subordinate what to do.

Taking a step forward, Hop invaded Leon’s personal space. “Tell me where we’re going first.”

Leon took a step back, startled. “The roof of Rose of the Rondelands.”

“Why?”

“The hotel is doing renovations, it’ll be empty until construction starts again.”

“Let’s go,” Hop called back all of his Pokémon back except for Coviknight. “Let’s fly there.” Anything he could do to throw off Leon’s game would be a worthwhile move.

“Wait, what about your Rotom phone?”

_ Is he really that concerned about the conversation being recorded? _

Hop pulled out his Rotom Phone. “Power off.” The screen went dark, and the eyes of Rotom closed, and it produced a faint electric  _ zzz _ noise. “Is this good?”

Leon nodded while calling out his  [ Charizard ](https://img.pokemondb.net/artwork/large/charizard.jpg) . “I’ll lead the way.”

Both brothers climbed onto their Pokémon. Hop still didn’t have a saddle for Corviknight. It was going to be a rough night. He lied down flat on his stomach against the cool metallic feathers and his hands wrapped around the front of Corviknight’s wings.

With a few powerful beats of his wings, Corviknight lifted himself into the air. Charizard’s burning tail illuminated the night sky, and Corviknight followed, like a moth to a flame. Below him, the city got further and further away, until the cars were just ants beneath them.

Both flying type Pokémon landed on the top of a particularly tall skyscraper. Although it wasn’t the tallest by a longshot, it still stood well above most other buildings. The brothers stood opposite to each other on the dark concrete ground. If not for Charziard’s glowing tail, he wouldn’t be able to make out Leon’s figure against the starless sky.

“Tell me everything.  _ Please  _ Lee.” Hop’s voice came out softer than he intended.

“I’m sorry.” A single drop of water fell between both men, if not for the echoing splat of the water, it would’ve gone undetected. “I just want to say, if you keep digging into this, you’re going to get more hurt than you already are.”

Anger boiled at Hop’s fingertips. “After all of this, you’re  _ threatening me? _ ”  _ After all I’ve done, you still treat me like a lost 14 year old. _

“Why don’t we just take a nice vacation to Aloha, and forget about all of this?” One drop turned to many, rain splattered against the rigid ground. A high pitched fizz covered the rooftop. The only source of light- Charizard’s tail flickered, light and shadows danced drunkenly around the two brothers.

“Cut the crap!” Hop took a few short breaths trying to calm his temper. “What do you mean, _ go to Aloha? _ ” His eyes narrowed, burning holes through Leon’s figure. “ _ I always knew it was you _ , but I refused to believe that my perfect brother would stoop so low. What are you planning with the Champion’s Brawl?”

“ _ Perfect? _ ” Leon scoffed. “You don’t know anything about me.” Charizard’s tail thrashed, smacking against the wet concrete.

“Yeah,  _ you’re right _ .” Hop matched every drop of poison in Leon’s voice with his. “You’re the  _ furthest  _ thing from perfect, and I know  _ nothing _ about you.”

“I thought we could settle this normally.” Rain hammered against the concrete, water pooling at the soles of their shoes. “But, all you know how to do is run into things and make them worse.”

Hop stumbled back. Leon was right. Darkest day, the Galar Particle panic, and the Shard thief, all he managed to do was screw them up. And now with this, all he managed to do was escalate the situation worse than it needed to be. “I-”

“Hop, you’re not the only one who knows how to fight without rules. I also mastered them, considering what I’ve been getting myself into for the past couple of years.”

Hop took a few more steps back, dirty water splashing at his feet.

“I’m the  _ invincible champion _ , the  _ strongest  _ person. You’ll always be weaker than me, in Pokémon battles or anything else. I am- will be  _ perfect. _ ” Leon took a few predatory steps forward. “Go to Aloha with me, and forget  _ everything _ .”

Leon was right, he was always right. Hop didn’t stand a chance against him, why even try? Leon: oppressively strong; Hop: injured, weak, and-

A gust of wind sent him off balance and he stumbled forward, droplets of water swirling around him. The wind somehow guided his movements. Coviknight’s angry squawks and the rhythmic beating of his wings filled the night sky and pushed Hop forward, reclaiming every inch of ground he lost.

What was he doing? All his friends were relying on him. Leon was invincible? Fat chance- he lost to Gloria years ago.  _ Who’s Lee to say that he’s stronger than me when we’ve never even fought before? _

“Lee- no,  _ Chairman Leon _ , I  _ will  _ arrest you.” Both Hop and Leon shot their hands towards their Poké Ball belts. They were beyond the point of no return. Corviknight and Charizard stood in offensive positions behind their respective trainers.

A bolt of searing white lightning crackled in the distance, lighting up the sky for a single moment. Using the blinding light as cover, in that single moment, both brothers called out their allies. 

Leon’s Pokémon reacted immediately, their instincts sharpened to the very limit through over a decade of intense training. However, no matter how precise and deadly Leon’s Pokémon were, with the wind in Hop’s favor, his Pokémon could match that speed.

Precisely a dozen attacks were launched at the same time.

A sharp streak of yellow electricity crackled out from Hop’s left shoulder. Purple energy whirled around the fangs and claws of a  [ Haxorus ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/8/8f/612Haxorus.png/250px-612Haxorus.png) , its eyes fogging with rage as it sliced through the bolt with one swift swipe. Jets of fire swirled around Cinderace’s foot and was launched across the rooftop. A dark orb of spiraling darkness countered the flames, sucking them in like a whirlpool before exploding into a shower of light and dark. With a furious cry, light materialized in front of Corviknight and formed a wall of light separating the roof in two.

Pieces of cement floated around Charizard. With a yell, they were launched like cannonballs at Cinderace. With their speed and power slightly lowered after passing through the barrier of light, Dubwool jumped into the sky, batting away the concrete, reducing it to rubble. Around Snorlax, thick roots bust out of the ground. Snorlax twisted his body, winding it up before throwing his arm around and spinning like a top. Shredded bits of plant matter splashed carelessly on the ground. With a running start, Zamazenta hurled himself at the enemy, not caring who he hit. His shield bashed with the shield of an  [ Aegislash ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/a/ad/681Aegislash.png) , his movements completely halted.

Beneath them, the ground made a sick whine, cracks breaking through the surface. Water rushed into the ground. Making one last wail, the ground caved in. Dust flew in the air mixing with rainwater as concrete smashed into the floor below bringing Hop and all his Pokémon except Corviknight with it. 

In the dark void above, electricity flashed along the clouds. Gathering every ounce of strength, Hop tightened his grip on Pincurchin, not caring about the spikes piercing his skin, and threw her, midfall.

Another strike of lightning ripped across the world. Right in the middle of the broken hotel.

Light exploded across the battlefield, like a flash grenade, but nuclear sized. An ear-splitting boom shook the building, right to its foundation. Burning hot electricity coursed through Pincurchin’s metal spikes and was absorbed.

With a wet smack Hop hit the combination of floor and rubble. Drops of blood flew out of his mouth but were quickly destroyed by the torrential downpour. He forced himself to his feet, despite the waves of pain crashing down on his back.

It took Hop a second to analyze the battlefield. 15 ft. above him, Corviknight flew alone, surrounded by  [ Dragapult ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/f/f7/887Dragapult.png) , Aegislash, and Charizard. Leon was also in the air, lifted up by Charizard’s claws.

The ground was brought back to life as approximately 750 kg of Snorlax and Rhyperior crashed into the ground, two craters of cracks and debris blossomed out of the floor.

“Pincurchin! Take out Charizard!” Hop screamed, more blood dripping out of his mouth.

The entire battlefield flashed again. Supercharged electricity burst out of every pore of Pincurchin’s body. Charizard barely let go of Leon before the impact, let alone doge. A shower of yellow energy mingled with the water, electrifying it. The blast sent Charizard through the window of a nearby building.

Bursting out from a pile of rubble, Haxorus hurled itself towards Hop, jaws open, and claws out.

A roar cut through the chaos, and everything froze.

Standing atop a pile of rubble, Zamazenta caught Leon in between his teeth.

Teeth that could tear through the flesh of Leon’s abdomen in a single chomp.

“Wait, stop,  _ please _ , I surrender.”

* * *

Binds gripped tightly around Officer Jenny’s body. The world was dark.

_ Where am I? _ She needed to find help, this was no longer something she could handle herself. A crime syndicate across multiple regions fell into the jurisdiction of the international police- not the hands of a single person.

She was no longer on the airplane, the ground was still and the air wasn’t stuffy. Familiar footsteps got closer to her, but this time it was accompanied by two more sets of steps.

Her blindfold was yanked off, she seemed to be in an underground garden. Exotic plants grew out of the white ground, walls, and ceiling. Why was everything so white- it felt claustrophobic despite the size of the room. Beside Melony stood a frail man in a ridiculously large lab coat and impractically large green goggles.

Beside the fool stood an actual threat- a  [ Hypno ](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/0/0a/097Hypno.png) .

“This is my friend, Faba. I hope you can become good friends with him.” A pure smile was sprawled across Melony’s face, but her eyes held a dark glint.

Officer Jenny responded with a murderous glare, she  _ would _ beat the shit out of all of them- no matter how many protocols she needed to violate in the process.

“Since you decided against talking on the plane, I’ve decided to put you to good use.  _ Very good use. _ ”

A cold shiver ran down her back, and her face twisted from one of rage to one of fear. Given the current situation, there was only one thing that could mean.

Officer Jenny tried forcing her eyes shut, but nothing happened, and an invisible force held her body in place. Her mouth was glued shut, not even a cry for help could come out.

The Hypo slowly made its way towards her. This wasn’t happening, it wasn’t.

It couldn’t.

_ I will not become a pawn against my own friends. _ She screamed inside her head.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Right.

The stone pendulum swung rhythmically.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Right.

_ Don’t give in. Don’t up. _

Left.

Right.

Left.

Right.

_ You can’t give in, not after all of this. _ A wrenching headache bore through her skull.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Right.

_ Please. _ Beads of sweat ran down her face.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Right.

_ Stop. _ Everything around her started to fade, all that remained was the comforting swing of the pendulum.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Right.

…

Nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally planning on making the Hop and Leon battle longer, but I got really exhausted writing it and didn't really know how to handle 14 character battles that well. Despite that, I still hope that you enjoyed reading it since I had fun writing it.
> 
> Let me know what you thought, I appreciate any feedback!


End file.
